McClatchy’s Kansas City Star is requiring one-week furloughs for most employees before the end of the year and is offering a voluntary separation program to the majority of its regular, full-time employees, the Kansas City Business Journal reports.
Other McClatchy newspapers, including The News & Observer in Raleigh, instituted furloughs earlier this year and have offered buyouts in the last year.
“We are doing this because many employees continue to express interest in a voluntary program during this time of industry transition, and because we want to put The Star in the best financial position possible going into 2010,” Star Publisher Mark Zieman said in a memo to staff. There is no targeted number for the buyouts.
The Business Journal also quotes McClatchy Treasurer Elaine Lintecum confirming that the company-wide salary freeze has been extended through the end of the year.
Tags: buyouts, furloughs, McClatchy, wage freeze