In a memo distributed to employees Thursday, Cincinnati Enquirer Publisher Margaret Buchanan wrote that the newspaper will lay off up to 100 people in the next few days. The Gannett Co., The Enquirer's parent firm, is bracing for about 1,400 layoffs in its newspaper division before July 9. Buchanan's memo is the first indication about how the cutbacks will affect Cincinnati's only remaining daily newspaper.—-
"I understand this is a very difficult time for everyone as each of you waits to see whether your job is included in the layoffs," Buchanan wrote. "I am hoping that we will be able to inform employees, who will be laid off, by the end of next week or the following week at the latest. I would estimate that as many as 100 employees will be affected. ...
"Unfortunately, these are extraordinary economic times we are experiencing, which give us no choice but to adjust our expenses in line with our revenue so we can continue to be a financially viable business."
So far this year, Gannett has required most of its workers to take two separate, five-day unpaid furloughs.
Also, Gannett had a round of layoffs in December and offered several employees a voluntary severance package last fall to reduce its payroll.
Like most newspapers, Gannett's bottom line is suffering from a migration of readers to free content on the Internet and a related loss in advertising revenues.
