The Tribune Company is planning to cut up to 500 people from its nationwide workforce — including some 100 to 150 jobs at the L.A. Times. About 40 to 50 of the cuts will be newsroom jobs.
In an L.A. Times article, Publisher David D. Hiller said the personnel reductions will come “through a combination of attrition, voluntary buyouts and, if necessary, layoffs.” The people affected would be out of the company by the end of March – most of them will get two weeks’ pay per year of service.
Apparently, the company will finance the buyouts from an “over-funded portion of Tribune employees’ cash-balance pension plan,” which according to Tribune officials has “about $300 million more than it needs to meet future obligations to retirees.”
