UPDATED
The union representing the Providence Journal announced today that 30 newsroom positions will be cut, a "huge" number that multiple sources said left employees "shocked."
The expectation at the Journal had been that it would lose about 10 to 15 editorial jobs. The newspaper missed its minimum target during the buyouts by 13.
Most employees learned their fates today. They will receive formal notification from human resources Thursday. They must work through Friday, Oct. 10, if they want to receive the severance package.
The losses from buyouts and layoffs represent just over 15 percent of the Journal's newsroom staff of 250.
Union officials said in a statement that, unlike 2004 in Dallas, Corporate "has told us there will be no security guard escorts to the door, or sudden disconnecting of your computers. We have tried to work out with the company what might be called the best way to handle a bad situation."
No news to report about Dallas or Riverside.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
A couple of things worth noting, obvious as they may be.
1) Belo follows different rules regarding Providence because of the presense of The Guild. Most of those who were laid off in Providence were part-timers, who may or may not have been Guild members. By focusing on part-timers, the company had to cut more to achieve the desired level of monetary savings. Part-timers not only earn less but do not generally receive benefits.
2) That said, there shouldn't be any doubt at this point that the target numbers once tossed around are no longer operative. Belo is in a financial tailspin, planning to borrow money to make payroll. The third quarter numbers are going to be ugly. And now we have a financial crisis that will almost certainly making corporate borrowing more costly and difficult. If Providence is cutting more than twice the number of positions that the company originally projected, who's to say that can't happen in Dallas. And we dont have that many part-timers.
Excuse my naivete. Can someone explain a bit more about the Guild, specifically its lack of presence/protection/participation here?
Not to add fuel to the fire but
1) Last night two moving trucks were spotted outside of the building with stacks of cubicles loaded on dollies.
2)Over a dozen people notified last Friday that they'd finally received parking on the lot had their offers rescinded today b/c "Payroll received instructions from senior management to suspend offering parking spaces until further notice."
Excuse my naivete too. Why are editorial positions being cut in Providence to save $ but not in Dallas?
Flu shots are being given at the main DMN buulding on Oct. 17. Now, maybe I'm over-reaching, but I don't see scheduling flu shots on a day when you've got chaos in the building. So, either A) Lay-off notifications will be complete by then and people will be gone -- thereby only providing shots to people who are still covered, OR B) You can stop and get your flu shot as a parting gift on your way out the door. So, yeah, maybe I'm weird, but still... Thoughts?
This place is ridiculous.
The blog is ridiculous?
I think the point is that DMN layoffs are not going to "happen" on Oct. 17. All signs point to them being completed well before then.
Most part-timers (3-day) in Providence receive benefits per the union contract. Many have been working part-time for decades. All full-timers have more seniority than part-timers. All part-timers sre being laid off, and they are still cutting some full-timers.
No, no; the DMN is ridiculous. This blog is great.
The Newspaper Guild has no presence at all at the DMN. There used to be a small union presence among backshop workers, but it disappeared years ago. Because there is no union presence, there is no union contract between management and employees. Texas is an at-will employment state, which means anyone can be fired at any time for virtually any reason. Seniority means diddly. Management may devise any plan they want for laying off people. They must still abide by federal anti-discrimination laws, but there is a lot of wiggle room to do pretty much what you want.
Post a Comment