We had heard rumblings for months. And I started getting phone calls and emails at 9 a.m. this morning. And in typical Liz fashion, I slept through the first two hours of it.
Well, my newspaper announced today that they are laying off 84 people, 5 in the newsroom. And even though there are numerous openings that have recently been vacated (two in my own sports department, leaving me now as THE only woman in two weeks... sigh...) they are still going to cut people from the newsroom, either through buyouts or layoffs.
According to one boss: "The voluntary portion of the newsroom layoffs will come from defined “work groups”. Folks with similar job titles and work responsibilities regardless of department make up a work group (e.g., team leaders, copy editors, reporters, photographers, page designers). A work group has to have two or more people in it to be considered. Selected work groups in the newsroom will be offered voluntary severance. If there are enough voluntary takers to meet the required number of cuts there won’t be involuntary layoffs. If enough employees don’t take the voluntary option, then involuntary layoffs will occur based (sic) the employees in the work group with the least tenure."
Read through the lines: Last one in, first one out. But I've heard rumblings that not one page designer is going to be cut. Uh, (a very weak) yay!
As I get through another buyout/layoff situation -- again -- in less than two years, I have to wonder: Is this industry worth it anymore? The aftermath of the second round of Dallas was hard enough to sit through and left some long-ranging blows.
There has been so much debate just amongst ourselves (with managers and with fellow low-totem colleagues) these past weeks, and I can see how unhappy everyone is. While I am truly grateful to still have a job, (as I have a mortgage to pay...) I wonder if it will still be here in say 5, 10, 15 years?
Our paper wasn't the only one to get hit today... the entire McClatchy chain took a massive throat-slasher (link here)
I'm just glad I was off today (i spent it enjoying the sun!, running errands and biking around downtown) and I'm off tomorrow (spending the day hanging out with Mindi in Seattle).
The funny thing is I was already planning on taking a few web courses online starting Wednesday. But this announcement makes it more imperative that I refocus where my career is headed. (I overheard part of this conversation at dinner at the Harmon Pub tonight where I could only nod my head and agree: people are age can no longer expect to stay in the same job from the time they graduate to their retirement. The days of a one-place career -- as many of our parents had -- are long gone...)
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Liz: Very sorry to hear you guys are getting cuts too. This might sound more self-righteous than I would intend, but I feel like the best move I ever made was out of the newspaper business 3 years ago. While I think papers will always be around, they won't be what they were, and it's people of our generation that these greedy, lame newspaper owners are squeezing out of the mix. It's an endless cycle of papers demanding 27 percent profit margins "in case of a rainy day" then laying off a quarter of the staff "in case of a rainy day." It's complete bullshit in every regard, and I don't think it's a healthy business going forward. I'm always here for you if you need to talk/vent. Miss ya!!
Brad
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