McClatchy to cut 1,150 jobs, trim dividend to 9 cents

"We’re past all the stages of death and mourning and denial and rage and we're now in the acceptance mode. We’re building fucking Edsels in Detroit here. Some of us are going to do this until we die. Or until they kill us. And it looks they’re killing more of us now." –Miami Herald reporter


The McClatchy Co. said today it is reducing its workforce by an additional 10 percent and cutting its quarterly dividend in half.

The job cuts, which are already underway and include voluntary buyouts announced earlier this month, will cut about 1,150 full-time jobs nationwide.

The moves are intended to help the company as it contends with an advertising slump that continues unabated. In August, advertising revenue fell by 17.8 percent compared with the same month last year, according to a statement released by the Sacramento, Calif.-based company.

It is McClatchy's second mass job reduction effort in the past three months. In June, the company implemented its first companywide layoffs that eliminated 1,400 full-time jobs.

"It is painful to announce these staff reductions, but the continued restructuring of our company is necessary given the relentless economic downturn and its impact on our business," McClatchy Chief Executive Gary Pruitt said in a statement. "McClatchy is committed to remaining a healthy, profitable company positioned to meet current challenges."

The company is reducing its third quarter dividend to 9 cents per share from 18 cents in the second quarter, the statement said. The job cuts will save the company $100 million over the next four quarters.