Deep cuts to hit Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer newsroom has received a request from Philadelphia Media Holdings CEO Brian Tierney.

"We've been asked to plan for as many as 150 people to be laid off," says Inquirer managing editor Anne Gordon. That figure represents more than a third of the newspaper's editorial staff.

At the end of last week Inquirer columnist Tom Ferrick had issued a memo cautioning the staff not to panic and reminding them the layoff threat had arrived during tough contract negotiations.

The Newspaper Guild, which represents Inquirer and Daily News editorial employees, is refusing to accept several of management's contract proposals, including a plan to convert the current pension system into an employee-funded retirement plan. The two sides are now in their second 30-day extension of the old contract, which is set to expire at the end of this month.

[Source: SPJ Press Notes]