Layoffs Loom Over LA Times, Tribune Publishing Announces Buyouts Program
Roughly 50 staffers expected to be cut from Times’ ranks if voluntary buyouts program doesn’t shrink staffing enough
Jordan Chariton | October 5, 2015 @ 9:41 AM
Last Updated: October 5, 2015 @ 12:45 PM
Los Angeles Times Media Group
Tribune Publishing launched a voluntary employee buyout program on Monday in hopes of cutting its editorial ranks company-wide as it bumps up digital efforts across its media properties.
“Any non union employee with more than one year of service will be eligible to participate in the program,” CEO Jack Griffin wrote in a memo Monday.
As part of the “Employee Voluntary Separation Program,” eligible employees will receive buyout offers within five business days and have until Oct. 23 to give management their decision.
If the company doesn’t get enough volunteers, there may be involuntary layoffs. Those cuts will hit the Los Angeles Times hardest with 50 positions expected to be cut after buyouts. This would shrink the Times’ newsroom to around 450 positions.
Griffin praised the accomplishments of the Times and other Tribune outlets in a memo sent to staff and obtained by CNN. He was also straightforward about the company’s future.
“In the challenging revenue environment that all publishing companies face, it is critical that we make hard decisions and take the necessary steps that continue to position Tribune Publishing Company for success over the long term,” he said.
Shares in Tribune Publishing have been in a freefall in the last year, down over 50 percent, leaving the company’s market value at $295 million and its stock price at $11 a share.
The L.A. Times is still a behemoth, ranking fourth among U.S. newspapers in daily circulation (489,000 daily readers) after the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today.
But in the last decade, no major daily paper has hemorrhaged readership faster than the L.A. Times.
Beutner didn’t stop the bleeding either: Daily circulation is down to 489,000 readers compared to 739,147 daily readers in early 2014.
A bright spot for the Los Angeles daily has been digital traffic; the L.A. Times ranked seventh in website unique visitors for national newspapers, according to State of the News Media’s 2015 report, making CEO Griffin’s focus on digital more sensible.
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Janet Cooke, who falsely claimed a master's degree from the University of Toledo, wrote a profile in 1980 for the Washington Post on an 8-year-old heroin addict. The story went viral and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. Two days after winning, the Post admitted the story had been fabricated and she resigned.
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Getty Images
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Salaheddin Barhoum and Yassine Zaimi were misidentified as the Boston Marathon bombers by the New York Post in April 2013. The publication printed a photo of the men on its front page with the damning headline "Bag Men." They later sued for libel, invasion of privacy and emotional distress.
Washington Post
CBS' Discredited "60 Minutes" on Benghazi
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Rolling Stone's Erroneous "A Rape on Campus" Story
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Rolling Stone
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"NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams Tells Matt Lauer Suspension Was ‘Torture,’ But ‘Absolutely Necessary’ (Video)" href="https://www.thewrap.com/brian-williams-tells-matt-lauer-suspension-was-torture-video/">Brian Williams admitted in Feb. 2015 that he exaggerated his experience aboard a helicopter that was struck by RPG fire during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Williams was suspended by the network and will return as Brian Williams Demoted to MSNBC Breaking News Anchor" href="https://www.thewrap.com/brian-williams-demoted-to-msnbc-breaking-news-anchor/">a breaking news anchor for MSNBC in August.
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The Washington Post's Fabricated Heroin Child Addict
Janet Cooke, who falsely claimed a master's degree from the University of Toledo, wrote a profile in 1980 for the Washington Post on an 8-year-old heroin addict. The story went viral and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. Two days after winning, the Post admitted the story had been fabricated and she resigned.