FORT WORTH, TX (April 17) - The publisher of the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth said the newspaper is eliminating 15 jobs through a restructuring of management, and that the employees who will be leaving the paper will do so on April 25.
Publisher Gary Wortel said the cuts will come in the newsroom, marketing, operations, circulation, and advertising departments. Eight of the cut jobs will be in the newsroom, according to the newspaper.
Earlier this year the newspaper chopped 26 jobs from its advertising design production department.
"This has been an extremely difficult decision. We decided to reorganize our management structure to adjust to a challenging business environment," Wortel said. "We analyzed all options and decided this was the best solution for the long-term health of our newspaper."
The Star-Telegram reported that the affected employees are eligible for severance packages that include pay based on how many years they've worked for the newspaper along with extended medical insurance.
Wortel said the hiring freeze at the Star-Telegram remains in effect until the economy improves.
One indicator of the economy's health was the lead story on today's Star-Telegram front page about one of the region's local businesses, the parent company of American Airlines, Inc.
AMR is posting a loss of $328 million for the first quarter of 2008.
