McLean-based Gannett said it would eliminate 700 jobs nationwide in its Community Publishing division, laying off three percent of its employees at newspapers such as The Courier-Journal of Louisville, The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Indianapolis Star, reports the New York Times. Gannett’s flagship paper, USA Today, just went through a round of cuts last summer and will not be affected by the layoffs, continued the Times story.
“As we reach the midpoint of the year, the economic recovery is not happening as quickly or favorably as we had hoped and continues to impact our U.S. community media organizations,” Robert J. Dickey, president of the Community Publishing division wrote in a memo to employees. “With many of our local advertisers reducing their overall budgets, we need to take further steps to align our costs with the current revenue trends.”
The Times story added that many of the advertising categories that collapsed during the recession continued to lag at Gannett papers. Real estate, help wanted and even auto ads, which had rebounded somewhat, remain depressed.
In addition to eliminating jobs, Gannett is also planning a new round of furloughs, a step it has taken several times in recent years. The latest round, which comes close on the heels of furloughs for many Gannett employees this year, will only affect people above a certain salary, mainly executives, stated the Times.