Any news of having voluntary layoffs at any of the papers? We asked in Lexington and were told that they're not sure if that will be "allowed" or not this time around.In the last round of layoffs, employees were told they could take a buyout or risk being terminated. What are you hearing?
UPDATE: also from comments -- corporate is keeping managers in the dark.
UPDATE #2: Mandatory one-week furloughs at New England newspapers
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24 comments:
Sounds bad. That might be a signal that the severance package won't be as good as some of the buyouts. Could be they just want to target some people with the higher salaries.
For anybody to think that they don't have a plan is crazy. They know exactly what they are going to do. It's just us that don't know.
I noted this from a post yesterday,
"the Tribune's [decision to raid the pension fund for severance payments]"
That doesn't sound good either.
At the McClatchy paper I (currently) work for, when specific questions have been asked about if something or other will happen, the response has always been "there is no plan to _______" -- but I've learned since then (thanks to a former manager of mine whose position was eliminated) that not all the information trickles down from corporate to all levels of management.
I can't help but believe that corporate has had a whole list of things they intend to do so long as the stock prices and revenues are dropping... and when announcements are made, that's when things start filtering to the publishers and directors and HR people, slowly but surely.
If the publisher, directors, HR, and managers of the individual papers haven't been looking ahead at what positions could be eliminated or what other cost cutting measures could be taken, they're delusional... all the working staff have been expecting this for some time (just as we've been expecting McClatchy papers in close proximity to each other to start merging).
If my job gets cut, I'm ready for it... I won't be happy about it, but I'm ready for it. I certainly won't be looking for another job in this industry if it happens!
12:19 You are correct about managers not knowing at least in the past they have not.
Stock holders please sell ALL you McClatchy stock and geat this bleed over with for God's sake.
While we all wait for THEIR plans:
Stock Market opened this moring with a Market Cap 58.62M Closed Market Cap 56.14M. What a wonderful day McClatchy had.
Anon. 12:19 PM
That was a very good post. Another Trickle-down effect, I suspect you are right on the money with everything you said.
1:33 PM
“What a wonderful day McClatchy had.”
I think you don’t mean that, but does it mean they just fell down even more, or something more important? Think Stock talk for Dummies.
I have no doubt that the info doesn't trickle down through management - however, when we asked in Lex. and were told that they didn't know if voluntary buyouts would be allowed or not - that came from the publisher and head of HR, not from middle management.
1:53 No I didn't mean that....I was joking.
Newspaper Bailout Still Possible in Connecticut [Kevin D. Williamson]
There's a lot of money in small newspapers, but my guess is that the new owners will try to get a piece of that state money in any case; you put money on the table, somebody's going to pick it up.
http://tinyurl.com/bs3wes
Does the market cap reflect the value of the supershares that are closely held by the BOD and family members?
If not, then it seems kind of pointless to pay much attention to that number.
Anonymous said...
Today's website offers the Bee for 40% off.
The SacBee fire Sale plan might have a few problems:
Good deal if you want the Bee, however, a long-term subscriber is going to call for the same deal, or cancel altogether. She says it is one thing to have the size of the paper cut in half, but quite another to charge her 40% more than a new subscriber.
This Bee is not going to fly.
So much for hot-house Sun Belt newspapers Pru, and they would be in Florida, the new hot-house newspaper killer state?
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As Alan D. Mutter noted in his Newsosaur blog last month, Pruitt [mistakenly jettisoned] the Knight Ridder newspapers in Akron, Ohio; Philadelphia; and the Dakotas in favor of the hot-house Sun Belt properties.
Just shoot MNI and put it out of OUR misery!
If not, then it seems kind of pointless to pay much attention to that number.
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That number will probably be the one responsible for MNI's ultimate de-listing and also figure heavily in their liquidation/bankruptcy proceedings. Ignore Market Cap and EPS at your own peril. After all, McClatchy is.
Thanks 5:56 that's why I posted it. I should have explained it.
My pleasure. I've learned that when using generally accepted fundamental analysis the first inclination is to discount anything not clearly defined on a line by line basis.
I blame our education system that doesn't want to teach anything on economics beyond balancing a check book. If they did it would put a bottle neck into the flush through system as their would most certainly be a wash out rate. Economics would destroy the average churn rate of the Liberal Arts degree.
They need to target directors or managers that are making 100K salaries. It is pinheads like nelson fonticella in lexington who make almost 150k and is driving circ into the ground. Most of these circ directors need to go. They are making decisions that are driven by ego and are hurting regular employees.
I don't know what paper you work at but our managers don't make 100k and managers don't make many decisions. Directors and up do but layoffs VP's.
sorry i was primarily talking about directors and vp's in my comments that make 100k. As a manager I am not making 100k either. many directors and vp's are grossly overpaid for what they contribute. i was referring to n fonticella who was moved up to a vp and circ. he is more concerned with people knowing he is the boss than actually listening to the staff.
We've already had involuntary layoffs at our paper and were told to expect more in the next two weeks. Apparently they are looking at other places to cut first... though I'm really not seeing any as that we've already outsourced just about everything that can be outsourced and cut or bureaus. We're having a meeting to discuss other ways to save money today -- as if we underlings would know more than the higher ups who have the actual numbers and such.
Our publisher apparently is a fan of this blog, btw. She made veiled reference about folks talking here. LOL.
I'm kind of agreeing with that theory of laying off higher paid employees, too. Just because pretty soon there won't be enough grunts to actually produce a newspaper. Sad thing is we're really experiencing cuts so drastic that even when the economy comes back, McClatchy will not.
Our newsroom is so top-heavy, it's ridiculous. There's about 1 editor for every 3 reporters. There aren't enough reporters (let alone copy eds and photogs) left to do even the basic news reporting that needs to be done day to day.
I don't see how they could NOT oust some of the upper managers at this point. Most of them have been there 20+ years, which wouldn't matter except they won't allow any change and only worry about covering their own a**es - part of the reason we're in the situation we're in. They've refused to listen to those under them about ways to make progress, and I'm sure they make loads more than the them anyway, so it seems like that's the place to make cuts.
Start with the V.P.'s first.
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