Guild president at Seattle Times, half-owned by McClatchy, is bracing for possible layoffs

Seattle Post Intelligencer has an update on possible layoffs at The Seattle Times:

This year, The Times has cut almost 200 jobs, put two of its four downtown properties up for sale and tried to sell its Maine newspapers. It's also going to outsource newspaper delivery trucking.

In union negotiations with the Pacific Northwest Newspaper Guild, The Times has hinted that more cuts are coming. Layoffs are still on the table.

"I just hope that if they have to do it again, they'll be able to do it in a humane and orderly manner," said Yoko Kuramoto-Eidsmoe, the guild president. "The main reason the union didn't raise a huge stink during the last round of cuts is that the company did them with respect to its employees and the contract. If that changes, the tone of our response obviously would change."

Characterizing the morale in the Times newsroom, Kuramoto-Eidsmoe said, "There's a lot of uncertainty and fear, but I think that's true of almost everyone in the industry."

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Once valued at $102 million, McClatchy's share of the Seattle Times has shrunk to $12 million