Re: Woke bankrupt Los Angeles Times to lay off 20% of newsroom, one of the largest staff reductions in paper's history

[Self-destruction]

On 15 Jul 2023, Gord <now...@protonmail.com> posted some
news:u8v26q$g9kg$1...@dont-email.me:

> The LA Times totally deserves to go under. When the owner put his
> leaft-leaning work cancel culture daughter in a management position,
> the paper was doomed. If the LA Times had taken the Democrats to
> task, it would have survived. It didn't so it failed.

By The Associated Press

Posted January 23, 2024 3:04 pm. Last Updated January 23, 2024 7:26 pm.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Times said it planned to lay off at
least 115 employees — more than 20% of the newsroom — starting Tuesday,
one of the largest staff cuts in the newspaper’s 143-year history.

The announcement came after the LA Times Guild walked off the job last
Friday to protest the imminent layoffs, the institution’s first ever
newsroom union work stoppage.

Matt Pearce, president of the Media Guild of the West, which encompasses
the Times’ union, called Tuesday a “dark day.” He said at least 94 union
members would be let go.

“Many departments and clusters across the newsroom will be heavily hit,”
Pearce said in a statement. “This total, while devastating, is nonetheless
far lower than the number of layoffs the Bargaining Committee was
expecting last week.”

He said some of those selected for layoffs by management may be eligible
for buyouts under the union contract.

Senior editors, photographers and members of the video unit were also part
of the purge, the Times said.

The cuts were necessary because the Times could no longer lose up to $40
million a year without boosting advertising and subscription revenue, the
paper’s owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, said Tuesday.

“Today’s decision is painful for all, but it is imperative that we act
urgently and take steps to build a sustainable and thriving paper for the
next generation. We are committed to doing so,” Soon-Shiong said.

Layoffs and buyouts have hit a wide swath of the news industry over the
past year. The Washington Post, NPR, CNN and Vox Media are among the many
companies hit.

An estimated 2,681 news industry jobs were lost through the end of
November, according to the employment firm of Challenger, Gray and
Christmas. That was more than the full years of 2022 and 2021.

The latest round of job cutting at the LA Times comes after more than 70
positions — about 13% of the newsroom — were slashed last June.

“This staffing cut is the fruit of years of middling strategy, the absence
of a publisher, and no clear direction,” the union said in a statement
Tuesday afternoon. “We remain grateful for the Soon-Shiong family’s
investment in the newspaper, and we remain committed to be good-faith
partners in the business and at the bargaining table. But it’s clear that
those entrusted to steward his family’s largesse have failed him — not the
rank-and-file staff members with no say in editorial priorities.”

Soon-Shiong, a biotech billionaire, acquired the Times in 2018, returning
it to local ownership two decades after it was sold to Tribune Co. The
purchase raised hopes after years of cutbacks, circulation declines and
leadership changes.

Earlier this month, Executive Editor Kevin Merida abruptly left after a 2
1/2-year tenure.

Pearce said the union’s bargaining committee would meet with Times
management on Wednesday to start discussions about the layoffs as set out
by the contract.

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2024/01/23/los-angeles-times-to-lay-off-one-
fourth-of-newsroom-staff-starting-this-week-union-head-says/