Memo to Herald employees about layoffs

To: All Employees

From: David Landsberg, Publisher

Subject: Expense Reductions

Date: March 9, 2009


On Feb. 5, McClatchy announced plans to further reduce operating expenses as a result of the ongoing and unprecedented economic pressures and revenue declines. Today, McClatchy released additional information about these expense reductions. The press release is available on McClatchy’s corporate website.

Here at the Miami Herald Media Company, we have already shared the news about advertising losses that are greater than any of us have ever seen in our history. As the economy continues to decline, so have our revenues.

We know you are anxiously awaiting the details of our expense reduction plans to offset these losses, but the plans aren’t quite final. We assure you we are working as quickly as possible to finish this work. We understand how unsettling the last several weeks have been and how announcements by other McClatchy papers increase concerns about the future. We apologize for the delay but want to make sure we carefully review every option before making final decisions. We anticipate communicating these decisions to you by the end of the week.

Our future success is dependent on the hard work you do every day. We know these repeated announcements and ongoing restructuring are disruptive, but we respectfully ask for your continued focus, even in these difficult circumstances.

Please contact your department manager or human resources if you have any questions. Thanks, David.

Also yesterday the Herald ran this article about the cutbacks at McClatchy. Expect layoffs of 15% of the Herald workforce. If I were in the executive offices at 1 Herald Plaza I'd start getting rid of truck drivers and pressmen. Time to move toward a digital model.

H/T: Deep Throat