The Charlotte Observer, the largest McClatchy newspaper in the Carolinas, announced buyout offers today to “many of its employees, including most of the newsroom.”
“The economy has been extremely sluggish,” Ann Caulkins, the Observer’s publisher, said in a meeting with the newsroom, according to an Observer report. “We haven’t seen any sort of bottom.”
Caulkins said there are no plans for involuntary layoffs this year.
The News & Observer in Raleigh announced buyouts a week ago and on Thursday the parent company announced third-quarter financial results that show ad revenue continuing to disappear.
Elsewhere, The New York Times said Monday it plans to eliminate 100 newsroom jobs — about 8 percent of the total — by year’s end, offering buyouts to union and non-union employees, and resorting to layoffs if it cannot get enough people to leave voluntarily.