Thursday and Friday will be tough days for Gannett, which will lay off about 200 more employees this week, according to The Poynter Report. The latest round of cuts follows 400 layoffs over the summer with more to come 400 vacancies will remain unfilled.
It’s unclear how many layoffs, if any, will come from Gannett-owned newspapers in New Jersey. The move will not affect employees at Gannett’s six unionized newspapers as they are in the process of contract negotiations.
That puts employees of the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and Daily Journal at risk. Some reporters from other newspapers may have taken a buyout package.
Layoffs during the holiday season have also left Gannett employees on edge over the past two weeks.
“While we have already made some strides, we must enter the new year in a stronger economic position, and the reality is that the cost base for news is currently too high for the revenue it generates,” wrote Henry Fore Walker, interim executive responsibilities of Gannett US News. The president, in a memo to staff sent out on November 16, “Unfortunately, this means we will be making further cuts.”
Five South Jersey Journalists lost their jobs in Augustincluding Deborah Marko, who worked as a reporter for Gannett newspapers for 37 years.
The largest newspaper chain in the country, Gannett, has faced serious financial difficulties in recent years. They reported a loss of $107.9 million between April 1 and September 30.
The company’s stock closed Friday at $2.27 a share, down from $5.04 a year ago and $18.04 in July 2019.
Last August, just days after reporting abysmal second-quarter earnings, Gannett CEO Mike Reed spent $1.22 million on buy 500,000 shares of Gannett.
On November 4, four days before Election Day, Gannett employees across the US held a one-day strike to protest the company’s budget cuts, which include a mandatory week’s vacation in December. The newspaper also suspended contributions to 401(k) retirement plans.
Gannett has not hired anyone to replace Asbury Park Press executive editor Paul D’Ambrosio. He announced in early November that he is leaving the newspaper after 41 years.
