NYT to shut down Paris operations partially

The New York Times Company, the American media conglomorate that publishes The New York Times, said it would close its editing and pre-press print production operations in Paris.

The Paris news bureau and advertising department will remain intact, but the company will move editing and prepress operations to New York and Hong Kong.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission the company said it has  informed employees of proposed measures intended to streamline its international operations and support future growth efforts. It has initiated discussions with the relevant employee works council in Paris regarding the proposed measures.

The company expects to incur approximately $15 million of total costs related to the measures, including $13 million of relocation and severance-related charges and approximately $2 million of lease impairment and other contract-related charges.

The proposed measures remain subject to consultation with the works council, which will be conducted in accordance with applicable French law.

In an interview with the Times, Joe Kahn, an international assistant masthead editor, said the changes were meant to ensure the future viability of the company's international print product.

The International New York Times evolved from the International Herald Tribune, which was once co-owned by the New York Times and the Washington Post.

News of the Paris layoffs is the latest in a series of warning signs for the European newspaper industry.

In March, the UK's The Guardian newspaper said it planned to downsize its workforce amid year-over-year print revenue declines of 25 per cent. A month earlier, the British newspaper The Independent said it was shuttering its print edition to become a digital-only publication.