New York Times to cut 100 newsroom jobs

October 20, 2009 12:33:00 PM

• A⁺ 
• A^-
• |
• 
• |
• 
• |
• 

The New York Times Co. plans to cut 100 newsroom jobs, about eight percent of the total, by the end of the year, the newspaper reported Monday.

The Times said management will mail buyout packages to the entire newsroom -- both union and non-union employees -- on Thursday and will resort to layoffs if not enough staffers accept.

It said employees will have 45 days to decide whether to apply for a buyout.

"As before, if we do not reach 100 positions through buyouts, we will be forced to go to layoffs," the Times quoted executive editor Bill Keller as saying in a note to news staff. "I hope that won't happen, but it might.

"I won’t pretend that these staff cuts will not add to the burdens of journalists whose responsibilities have grown faster than their compensation," Keller said.

"Like you, I yearn for the day when we can do our jobs without looking over our shoulders for economic thunderstorms," he added.

The Times carried out a similar buyout program last year, reducing its news department head count from more than 1,330 to some 1,250, and it slashed the pay of most employees earlier this year by five percent for most of this year.

Like other US newspapers, the Times has been grappling with a steep drop in print advertising revenue and the migration of readers to free news online.

The New York Times Co. announced last week that it had decided not to sell the Boston Globe in a reversal the newspaper said was apparently due to low bids for the money-losing daily.

The Times Co. bought the Boston Globe for 1.1 billion dollars in 1993 but the value of the newspaper has plummeted since then, along with the fortunes of the US newspaper industry.

The Times Co. recently completed a sale-leaseback deal for part of its Manhattan headquarters in a move aimed at raising cash to pay down its debt.

It also received a 250-million-dollar loan from Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

The Times is also seeking a buyer for its 17.75 percent stake in New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team and their iconic stadium, Fenway Park.