Wednesday, October 01, 2014

New York Times newsroom job cuts jump to 330

The New York Times will eliminate about 100 newsroom jobs – 7.5% of its remaining staff after previous attritions -- as well as a smaller number of positions from its editorial and business operations, offering buyouts and resorting to layoffs if enough people do not leave voluntarily, the newspaper announced on Wednesday.

NYT eliminated 100 newsroom jobs in 2008, another 100 in 2009 and 30 more at the beginning of 2013. That leaves about 1,330 in the newsroom, including those who handle digital efforts or are video journalists.

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the newspaper’s publisher, and Mark Thompson, its chief executive, said NYT Opinion, a new mobile app dedicated to opinion content, was shutting down because it was not attracting enough subscribers.

Newspapers across the country have slashed positions this year. The Wall Street Journal cut dozens of jobs this summer, USA Today eliminated 70 positions in September, and Freedom Communications carried out layoffs in January at two smaller local newspapers, The Orange County Register and The Press-Enterprise of Riverside.

Digital advertising is expected to grow 16% in the third quarter, the best quarterly performance since 2010, and digital subscriptions are expected to increase by more than 40,000, the largest number of quarterly additions since 2012.

But the company’s profitability is lower because revenue hasn’t kept up with increased costs.

After the announcement, the company’s stock closed at $12.30, up $1.08, or 9.6 percent, after closing Tuesday at a 52-week low.


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