The Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times disclosed plans on Monday to reduce their staffs by as many as a combined 250 jobs, the latest cutbacks in a newspaper industry reeling from a fall-off in advertising and circulation.
The actions by Tribune’s two largest dailies, which had been expected for months, come on top of earlier cutbacks by both papers.
The Times said it hopes to cut its staff of 2 625 by up to 150 employees, or nearly 6%. The Chicago Tribune said it intends to trim its staff by as many as 100, or 3%. The cuts are to be achieved by a mix of closing vacant positions, attrition, buyouts and lay-offs.
“The actions being undertaken at our newspapers reflect fundamental changes going on across the media industry,” Tribune spokesperson Gary Weitman said. “We cannot stand still; as revenues have slowed, our newspapers are scaling expenses accordingly.”
Tribune said it will redeploy its resources to areas that can best generate growth, as it is now doing with internet-focused ventures.
The Times said up to 70 jobs could be cut from the newspaper’s news operations, which would reduce the newsroom staff to about 850 people. The Times news operation employed about 1 200 at the time of its purchase by Tribune in 2000.
Chicago Tribune spokesperson Christine Hennessey declined to say how many news positions could be affected or give the current number of newsroom jobs.
United States newspaper circulation has been headed steadily downward since 1987, but the drop-off has accelerated in recent years as readers and advertisers defect to the internet and other media such as cable TV. For the six-month period ending last September, average paid circulation fell 8% at the Times and 1,7% at the Tribune.
Times publisher David Hiller, who took over last October when Jeffrey Johnson resigned after protesting Tribune’s proposed cuts, said the newspaper must continue to change its business model in the face of industry-wide challenges.
“It is also crucial we reduce resources, including some of our people, in areas of our core print business where revenue is declining,” Hiller said in a statement.
He said online revenue has been increasing by 20%, while total revenue for the Times and related units dropped 4% in the first quarter.
The cuts have been discussed for months and were not a result of Tribune’s acceptance earlier this month of an $8,2-billion buyout offer from real-estate tycoon Sam Zell, Hiller said.
“These are changes, including cuts, that we’re making because of business conditions and what we need to do to position the business for the future,” he said.
Moody’s Investors Service on Monday lowered Tribune’s debt rating because of the additional huge debt that will be involved in the Zell transaction.
The Times probably will add about 20 positions in the interactive division, including journalists, as that business grows, Hiller said.
Times editor James O’Shea told employees on Monday that he understood how they might be angry at the cost cuts, especially in light of bonuses that Tribune senior management will receive if the Zell buyout, which will take the company private, is approved later this year.
Tribune has set aside $6,5-million in a bonus pool for 38 top executives once the deal is complete. Tribune CEO Dennis FitzSimons chose not to participate in the bonus pool, but the company’s chief financial officer will receive a $600 000 bonus and Scott Smith, head of the newspaper division, will receive a $400 000 bonus, the company has said.
“I cannot — and will not — defend any such bonuses,” O’Shea wrote in an email. “But this staff reduction is not because of — or about — bonuses. Unfortunately, the business model at newspapers across the nation remains under challenge and we are no exception.”
Smith said in an email to Chicago Tribune staff that there has been “solid progress on circulation and readership”. He said the company is pushing forward with numerous changes to respond to readers’ demands, including adding a weekend edition of the free tabloid RedEye and launching a community journalism website encouraging suburban readers to post their own unedited articles, photos and blogs.
However, with revenue on the decline, “we need to achieve additional expense savings at the same time we focus on revenue growth”, Smith said.
Tribune, the nation’s second-largest newspaper publisher, last week reported a first-quarter loss of $15,6-million because of continued declines in classified advertising. The struggling company owns 11 daily newspapers, 23 TV stations and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. — Sapa-AP
AP business writer Gary Gentile in Los Angeles contributed to this report