Employees at The News & Observer heard this morning of “a voluntary reduction program for several areas of our operation” affecting an unspecified number of employees. Employees in positions that “may not need to be replaced if vacated, or where work can be consolidated, reorganized or streamlined” are to receive buyout packets later today, according to an e-mailed message from Publisher Orage Quarles III.
Affected employees will have until 5 p.m. October 27 to decide whether to accept the offer, and will work through November 6 if accepted.
Among positions with multiple incumbents are copy editors, designers and photographers in the newsroom, and advertising managers and account executives (sales reps) in the Advertising Department.
Not counting outsourcing moves affecting ad designers, transportation and customer service, this is the fifth round of buyouts or layoffs at The N&O, sixth counting a few people let go from the recycling plant. In the past, if too few accepted buyouts to meet the necessary cost reductions, layoffs followed.
“As you know, we have implemented a number of cost-control and reorganization measures including reducing our workforce, implementing a wage freeze and managing down vacation liabilities,” Quarles says. “Unfortunately, despite our progress, there is continued softness in our classified ‘Big 3′ categories. While it does not appear that revenue is getting worse, we still are falling short of our projections. As a result, we must now look for additional expense reductions.”
In addition to softness in advertising revenue, The McClatchy Company, The N&O’s owner, is laboring uder a debt of about $2 billion from its purchase of Knight Ridder in 2006. This week the company announced seven layoffs at its Modesto Bee and “organizational changes” at its Sacramento Bee, according to the McClatchy Watch blog.
Update: Buyout offers in the newsroom are going to mid-level section editors and reporters, and do not include copy editors or designers. In Advertising, managers, sales representatives and the Creative Services team (senior designers) received packages.