57 members of LA Times staff leaving

Los Angeles Times editor Jim O’Shea, in an email to the staff, repored that 57 editorial staffers will be leaving–some voluntarily and some involuntarily–over the next few weeks.

“Everyone who will be leaving has been notified. All will receive a generous separation package that includes salary continuation and outplacement assistance,” O’Shea wrote..

“In the editorial department, 57 members of the staff will be leaving the paper, not including a few editorial assistants whose positions are being converted to part time jobs in reorganization. We will replace a significant number of people, though, to offset the decline. We are also examining our polling operation to determine if reorganization could increase revenues while achieving further savings. We expect to complete this examination in the next couple of months.

“Some highly talented people are leaving the staff and I hate to see them go. No one enjoys going through something like this, least of all me. This is a time of wrenching change at our paper and in our industry. I wish those leaving all the best. I pledge to do anything I can to help them with their futures.”

Click on the headline to read O’Shea’s memo posted on LA Observed, an online journal of Los Angeles Media