USA Today publisher Gannett to axe more than 1,000 jobs: report
02 Jul 2009
Media house Gannett Co Inc, publisher of the USA Today apart from 84 other US newspapers, is reported to be axing between 1,000 to 2,000 jobs as it struggles to cope with declining revenues, a crisis, which is widespread with all print media in the US.
Gannett, which publishes 85 daily US newspapers, more than 850 magazines and other non-dailies and also operates 23 television stations in 19 US markets, will axe jobs from its 80 small newspapers, although employees at the USA Today may not be affected, reported The Wall Street Journal, citing a source familiar with the company's thinking.
The paper reported that that although the exact number of jobs to be axed was not clear, the company is expected to make the announcement in the next few days.
Virginia-based Gannett, which has about 41,500 employees, had cut about 10 per cent or 4,600 of its work force last year and the present impending job cuts is expected to prune its employee strength by another 3.4 per cent.
With advertising being the main source of revenue for newspapers, Gannett's layoffs has not come as a surprise since it posted dismal first quarter results. Its profits were down 60 per cent from a year earlier as advertising sales plunged 34 per cent and analysts fear that it has not fared any better in the latest quarter that just ended , the results of which, will be released on 15 July. (See: Largest US publisher Gannett's quarterly profit down 60 per cent)
Gannett had cut expenses 10 per cent to $1.2 billion. It has been working on a number of ways to modernise its news-gathering and adapt to the Internet. The publisher also is experimenting in other ways, including cutting the number of days it home-delivers print editions of the Detroit Free Press.
The company had already enforced two weeks of unpaid leave during the first half of the year and asked higher-paid employees to take a temporary salary cut in order to preserve jobs. (See: USA Today publisher Gannett asks employees to go on unpaid leave)