Employees at The Birmingham News will be subject to graduated pay cuts, management there told staff today. The newspaper will also close suburban bureaus by the end of the summer and some part-time staff will be laid off.
Full-time employees making $35,000 per year or less will not be affected. Above that threshold, though, cuts will escalate with salary levels. The cuts are in addition to a 3.8 percent reduction implemented earlier this year. Together, the cuts will average about 10 percent for most employees, News employees speaking on background said.
In addition to the cuts, the News is offering an enhanced severance package to full-time staff who want to take a voluntary buyout.
As part of the Newhouse chain, the News has a job-for-life pledge with its full time staff. That agreement has been problematic for the chain as daily newspaper revenues have continued to plummet. Last year, the company amended the policy to apply only as long as the paper published daily.
Newhouse owns three newspapers in Alabama — the News, The Huntsville Times and the Mobile Press-Register.
MBT
