Plain Dealer Ups Job Cuts To 50 Newsroom Positions

CLEVELAND, OH (November 12, 2008) – Last week management at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland said as many as 38 unionized newsroom employees would be cut from the staff by the end of the year because of the sinking economy.

Today, they upped the number to 50.

That number is 21 percent of its unionized editorial jobs. If 50 people don't step forward as volunteers, the paper will begin layoffs.

The Northeast Ohio Newspaper Guild represents 238 of the 299 newsroom employees at The Plain Dealer, a 345,000 circulation daily owned by Advance Publications Inc.

Publisher Terry Egger said that advertising revenue has been worse than expected and that there are "hard times ahead." The positions being cut represent photographers, reporters, editors, and some support staff.

Employees have a November 20 deadline to volunteer for a buy-out. The package offers two weeks pay for every year worked at the paper, but health insurance is not part of the offer.

Already this year 10 non-union Plain Dealer newsroom employees took a buy-out offer, and in 2006 the Plain Dealer offered a buy-out to all of its employees. Reports say that 64 took the offer at that time.

 

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