StarBulletin.com

Gannett lowers boom on 1,400 more workers


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POSTED: Saturday, July 11, 2009

NEW YORK » The latest wrenching cutbacks at Gannett Co. fell this week, as hundreds of employees at the country's largest newspaper publisher received notices of layoffs.

The company informed its newspapers last week that roughly 1,400 positions would be cut at Gannett's U.S. community publishing division, a unit that does not include its USA Today newspaper.

No cuts were reported at the Gannett-owned Honolulu Advertiser.

It is the latest major cutback for Gannett amid drastic revenue declines across the newspaper industry. Gannett is slashing 106 full-time jobs and 19 part-time positions at its newspapers in New Jersey, which include the Asbury Park Press and five other dailies.

Dozens of other newspapers in the company are also facing layoffs, less than a year after Gannett trimmed its staff in the U.S. community publishing division by about 10 percent. The company, which employed roughly 41,500 employees before the latest layoffs, also has imposed unpaid furloughs for U.S. workers and wage freezes.

Gannett's publishing division reported a 34 percent year-over-year advertising decline for the first quarter.