The press states it will have a 20% layoff of at least 115 workers. It will be the biggest layoff in the whole 142-year history.
Thus, the news also had other significant layoffs in the media industry of the US. There are also outlets such as Sports Illustrated and other music publishers involved.
The reporter stated that it was a “dark day” for the news. In the report from Tuesday, the press there were layoffs. It was due to significant financial losses.
“The big decision was painful, but the newspaper needed to act fast. They also needed to take the right steps to create a thriving news business. It is necessary for the next generation.”
A memo was also sent to the union members in the press room. They informed staff that 94 places were being terminated. Thus, it is about a quarter of the guild members. The stats come from the press release.
“It is a dark day.” Matt Pearce, the reporter working there, states. He is also a president of the Media Guild.
“A lot of departments and clusters across the newsroom will get a big hit.”
Senior Editors Affected by Layoff Incident
Senior editors also take a hit from this incident. Chief reporter Kelly also states this. A few photographers who won awards also lost their jobs at the Los Angeles Times.
Shiong bought the newspaper business in 2018. He got warnings of layoffs, so he told the staff to protest. The walkout made the managing editor resign. She said it was a private, professional decision.
The executive editor, Merida, also left the newspaper. In the interview with the company, Shiong blamed the past owner. The blame was for the financial difficulties facing the newspaper.
The newspaper needed to reach its goal of getting more digital subscribers. It also did not manage to get more advertisement income.
“It is not easy to reflect on the bad days. There was a lot of challenges the newspaper faced. Moreover, there was so much lost. It actually exceeded 100M dollars in operational and capital expenditure.”
Shiong also states that he backed the business. He believes the newspaper still has a future. The CEO then bought the LA Times and San Diego Union-Tribune subsidiary company. There were also other media properties he acquired. Shiong bought it in 2018 for 500M USD.
CEO States There Was Still a Plan for the Newspaper Business to Survive
“It is not the end, there is a master plan.”
The layoffs became a significant disruption in the US news market. Last week, Sports Illustrated stated the news wanted to cut off all its union staff. It was after the publisher did not manage to pay the licensing fees. The fees are for the magazine’s parent company.
In Conde Nast, the business behind titles like Vogue and Vanity Fair wishes to lay off too. They wanted to get rid of more than 300 workers.
As part of a restructuring plan, Nast states they will retrench the staff. The staff will turn into a GQ magazine and set free.
The Washington Post boss wishes to buy layout staff because of a loss of 100M last year.
