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New York Times plans to cut jobs across the company, including about 100 positions in the newsroom, to control costs and help boost long-term profitability.
The publisher disclosed plans for the buyouts and layoffs in a regulatory filing today, saying the reductions "are necessary to control our costs and to allow us to continue to invest in the digital future of The New York Times." In a memo to the newsroom, Executive Editor Dean Baquet said that there will be forced layoffs if 100 newsroom jobs can't be eliminated through voluntary buyouts. In a story on its website, the Times reported that it amounts to about 7.5 per cent of the newsroom staff.
The Times' efforts to transform itself into a digital newsroom with specialised stories and online subscription packages has so far not been enough to make up for the ongoing decline in its print business. Both print advertising and print circulation fell in the second quarter, surpassing the gains in the Times' digital business where ad rates are far cheaper than in print.
The company said on Wednesday it was expecting profit to fall again in the third quarter, which ended yesterday, as operating costs rise.
