Thursday, March 19, 2009

Pink slips in Fresno today: "They are pulling people in one by one"

Via email:
They are pulling people in one by one. Three buyouts approved so far. 14 will be bought out or laid off today.

More as the news comes in.
.
.
.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

From Anchorage:

To: All Employees

From: Patrick Doyle

Subject: Workforce and Wage Reductions

Date: Thursday, March 19, 2009


Last week, we told you that we were still developing our expense reduction plans and would finalize and communicate them to you as soon as possible.

Today, I want to share with you what those plans mean for the Anchorage Daily News. We are announcing plans to reduce our workforce by 47 positions. Although many of these job eliminations will occur through involuntary layoffs, there also will be opportunities for employees to voluntarily elect a severance package where reductions are occurring in work groups of two or more employees. If enough employees do not take the voluntary option, then the work groups will be reduced according to least tenure.

Reductions will occur in all areas of the operation. Employees affected by this reduction are being notified and provided with information about a transition package. We appreciate all that they have done for Anchorage Daily News and will do everything we can to make their transition as smooth as possible.

In addition, we are implementing wage reductions for all employees whose compensation exceeds $25,000 annually. Every employee will receive a letter detailing the impact of the wage reduction on their pay and will have the opportunity to ask questions. These wage reductions take effect on April 13, 2009.

These are difficult decisions, especially when it means saying goodbye to so many of our friends and colleagues. But we must make these additional cuts to ensure the viability of our newspaper and to adjust to these new competitive and economic realities.


There have been many questions about work furloughs. We are not planning furloughs for the first half of the year. However, we may revisit that option later in the year if financial conditions do not improve. We think it’s important you know it’s a possibility, and details will be provided if and when a decision has been made.

Again, I want to apologize for all of the disruption that you have experienced over the last several weeks. This is a very difficult time for all of us, and it will continue to be difficult as we all adapt to a new way of doing business. We can only respectfully ask, as we have in the past, that you keep your focus and continue to work hard to help our newspaper succeed.

Please contact Human Resources if you have any questions about the severance program or wage reductions. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

I guess they'll be saving enough money so that they can continue to publish a "Gossip & Snark" blogger. What a great way "to inform and advocate for the enhancement of life in the Valley."

vdavisson said...

"Goodnight!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNgecUK3SJA