A.H. Belo Grants Buyouts to 412 -- But Layoffs Still Needed
NEW YORK A.H. Belo Corp. revealed that 412 employees at its three daily papers took buyouts, but the company will still have to resort to layoffs to meet its financial needs.
A story in The Providence (R.I.) Journal announced that that paper had granted buyouts to 22 workers, while the sister Dallas Morning News had gotten 270 takers and The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif., had seen 120 employees take the payoffs to leave.
"The number of layoffs at the Providence Journal was not provided, with the company noting they are 'subject to contractual obligations,'" the story stated. "The affected departments are news, editorial, advertising and promotion, according to the company. A letter A.H. Belo sent to employees said the layoffs would also affect about 50 positions at The Dallas Morning News and about 30 positions at The Press-Enterprise."
The Journal stated that the combined workforce cuts would save $29 million annually for Belo.
Robert Decherd, Belo chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement: “These job actions are part of a restructuring of our newspaper operations that accelerates the allocation of resources to promising new print and online products while focusing our workforce on A.H. Belo’s local content creation and sales capabilities.
"We greatly appreciate the dedication and service of all A.H. Belo employees who are leaving the company under the voluntary severance program. I’m confident that we’re taking the right steps to realign our resources to meet consumer and advertiser needs while maintaining the exceptional quality at A.H. Belo’s journalistic products.”
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
A story in The Providence (R.I.) Journal announced that that paper had granted buyouts to 22 workers, while the sister Dallas Morning News had gotten 270 takers and The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif., had seen 120 employees take the payoffs to leave.
"The number of layoffs at the Providence Journal was not provided, with the company noting they are 'subject to contractual obligations,'" the story stated. "The affected departments are news, editorial, advertising and promotion, according to the company. A letter A.H. Belo sent to employees said the layoffs would also affect about 50 positions at The Dallas Morning News and about 30 positions at The Press-Enterprise."
The Journal stated that the combined workforce cuts would save $29 million annually for Belo.
Robert Decherd, Belo chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement: “These job actions are part of a restructuring of our newspaper operations that accelerates the allocation of resources to promising new print and online products while focusing our workforce on A.H. Belo’s local content creation and sales capabilities.
"We greatly appreciate the dedication and service of all A.H. Belo employees who are leaving the company under the voluntary severance program. I’m confident that we’re taking the right steps to realign our resources to meet consumer and advertiser needs while maintaining the exceptional quality at A.H. Belo’s journalistic products.”
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
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