Jan 24, 2008 12:24 pm US/Central
Chicago Sun-Times Lays Off 17, Accepts 12 Buyouts
CHICAGO (AP) ―
The Chicago Sun-Times has laid off 17 reporters and editors and cut another 12 newsroom jobs through voluntary buyout packages as part of a push to drastically reduce costs.
Fourteen full-time and three part-time newsroom staff members were notified of their layoffs in Wednesday night telephone calls from their bosses.
Misha Davenport, the Newspaper Guild's co-chairman at the Sun-Times, disclosed the layoff total Thursday and noted it was better than feared because of the buyout packages accepted voluntarily.
Parent Sun-Times Media Group Inc. had said earlier this month that it planned to eliminate as many as 35 union-covered jobs in the newsroom of the city's second-largest newspaper, or nearly 20 percent of what formerly was a total of 188 Guild-covered jobs. The final tally could now end up being 32, including three vacant positions.
Company spokeswoman Tammy Chase confirmed that employees whose jobs are being eliminated had been notified but did not cite a total. She said the cuts are part of Sun-Times Media Group's plan announced last month to slash 2008 operating costs by $50 million.
Sun-Times executives have said they're trying to save $3 million of that total with the newsroom cuts, according to union officials.
Employees being laid off get two weeks' pay for every year of service up to a total of 50 weeks, so a staffer with 25 years at the Sun-Times would get virtually a full year's pay.
One of the buyout packages, applying to employees 55 years and older, also includes a health care extension obligating the company to pay for some benefits for up to five years.
"In the end, everyone walks away knowing that everything possible was done to avoid the pain of the cutbacks," said Jerry Minkkinen, the guild's executive director. "Both sides worked very, very hard and came up with a solution that, even though painful, alleviated as much of the damage as possible."
Sun-Times Media Group, which also owns dozens of smaller Chicago-area newspapers, is under pressure to return to profitability amid a historic industry slump as many advertisers and readers abandon print newspapers for the Internet. The company, which is expected to report fourth-quarter results in early March, lost $192 million in the third quarter on a 7 percent decline in revenue.
The Sun-Times is considered likely to be sold at some point, but Davenport dismissed speculation it would be shut down -- at least any time in the near future.
"The stories of the Sun-Times' demise have been greatly exaggerated," the union co-chairman said. "If they were moving to close shop, I'd be in conversations with them."
cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages
Slideshow: Remembering Actor Heath Ledger Slideshow: The Rise Of Barack Obama
Slideshow: 90s TV Stars Then And Now
Slideshow: World's Most Bizarre Deaths
Slideshow: In To Be Out: Gay Celebrities
Slideshow: Did You Know? Stars From Chicago!
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
