Layoffs begin at ProJo

IN PREPARATION FOR THE TAKEOVER by new owner Gatehouse Media, the Providence Journal has begun the process of trimming staff, according to current employees who have taken to social media to report what is happening. / PBN FILE PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD
IN PREPARATION FOR THE TAKEOVER by new owner Gatehouse Media, the Providence Journal has begun the process of trimming staff, according to current employees who have taken to social media to report what is happening. / PBN FILE PHOTO/BRIAN MCDONALD

(Updated, 9:45 p.m.)
PROVIDENCE – The Providence Journal has begun laying off employees in advance of its acquisition by the parent of Gatehouse Media Inc., according to comments from newsroom staff on social media. Rhode Island Public Radio reports that the number of union personnel who were losing their jobs numbered 22, although that number does not include potential management layoffs.

Neither Journal management, the Providence Newspaper Guild, nor Gatehouse have returned calls for comment regarding the reports, which began emerging from employees around midday.

“Some already out the door as @projo layoffs begin,” said reporter Karen Lee Ziner on Twitter.

Reporter Gene Emery tweeted that new management from Gatehouse was set to take over the paper Wednesday.

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“Some wonderful people are being shown the door,” Emery wrote. “GateHouse apparently to take over Wednesday, survivors being told.”

The number of layoffs at the paper have not been disclosed. There were a series of meetings throughout the day for newsroom employees, although it is unclear if other departments of the newspaper were included in similar discussions.

Copy editors for the news and sports departments, as well as section editors, were told that their jobs would be outsourced to Austin, Texas, in February, and although the pay scale would remain the same through then, it was not clear what if any severance pay would be awarded at that point. Estimates place the number of copy editors at the paper in the neighborhood of 20, although the company has not said formally if that is the number of employees who are being let go.

Online producers were called into meetings as well, but it was not clear how many, if any, will be let go, or when that might happen.

The Providence Journal Co. listed its total employee count as 385 in the Providence Business News 2014 Book of Lists, down from 455 in the 2013 Book of Lists, 467 in the 2012 Book of Lists, 507 in the 2011 Book of Lists, 707 in the 2010 Book of Lists and 682 in the 2009 Book of Lists.

Calls and emails to Providence Newspaper Guild President John Hill and Gatehouse Vice President of Investor Relations Mark Maring were not immediately returned. Journal Executive Editor Karen Bordeleau referred questions to outgoing Journal Publisher Howard G. Sutton and recently named interim publisher, Bernie Szachara.

According to Rhode Island Public Radio, the layoffs include columnist Bob Kerr, reporters Tatiana Pina and Michael McKinney and sports staffer Rich Lee, as well as reporter Tom Morgan.

The Journal on Aug. 30 reported that Szachara, 49, will succeed the retiring Sutton as interim publisher this month. Szachara is senior vice president for publishing and group publisher at Local Media Group, a division of GateHouse Media.

The sale to New Media Investment Group Inc. for $46 million is expected to close in the third quarter.

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1 COMMENT

  1. I was shocked to read of layoffs at the Journal. I don;t recall layoffs when the Belo group bought the paper. I guess this has been coming for a while and one is only surprised when it happens in one;s hometown. I will particularly miss Bob Kerr;s column which was interesting from time to time.