Erie Times-News, Jan. 17

Erie Times-News to cut 24 positions

By Peter Panepento

The Erie Times-News, citing stagnant revenues and rising costs, announced Jan. 16 it is eliminating 24 positions and folding two of its three weekly "Neighbors" community news sections.

Jan. 18 marked the final editions for the affected sections -- one focusing on eastern Erie County, and the other on southern and western Erie County -- and nine employees will be laid off as a result of the move.

The paper will continue to publish its Friday Neighbors section in Crawford County.

The moves are part of a larger effort by the newspaper to cut its staff by about 8.5 percent in 2006, according to its publisher, Jim Dible.

The newspaper plans to lay off another 11 workers by Feb. 3 and leave four vacant positions unfilled. It will have about 250 employees once the layoffs are complete.

Dible said the moves are necessary in light of an economic climate that has brought flat revenues and has been punctuated by rising costs for paper and utilities.

The cutbacks will affect salaried and union employees.

"Ours is a maturing industry in a region that has not enjoyed economic growth," Dible said. "This is as much about reshaping our company for the future as it is about 2006."

The newspaper in October had offered employees the option of taking early retirement in the hope that could lessen the effect of potential layoffs.

But even in the face of that offer, the scale of Jan. 16's announcement came as a surprise to the paper's biggest union.

"I never expected it to be this many people," said Carol Przybyszewski, the president of Erie Newspaper Guild Local 38187. "It's a sign of the times."

The company's management plans to meet with union officials today to discuss the details of its plan.

Przybyszewski said Jan. 16 she could not comment on the makeup of the job cuts until after the union meets with management.

The newspaper industry has been in the midst of tumult in recent years as a confluence of factors -- including rising competition from the Internet and other media, and rising costs for paper and energy -- have cut into profits.

The New York Times Co. -- the publisher of the New York Times, Boston Globe and 16 other daily newspapers -- in September announced a plan to cut 500 employees as part of a cost-cutting strategy. The company was one of several publishers that have outlined plans in recent months to scale back their operations.

It was unclear Jan. 16 how many total newsroom positions will be included in the cuts, though Dible said he does not expect the layoffs to affect the daily paper's newsgathering operations.

The cuts are also expected to help the company invest in its Internet site, GoErie.com, as well as its strategy for niche publications.

"You can't reduce yourself to prosperity," Dible said. "Part of reshaping an organization is being able to invest in our future."

Affected employees will be offered a severance package.

"It doesn't change the fact that this is very painful to do because you are affecting people's lives," Dible said. "But you do what you believe is right and you accept responsibility for your actions. I believe this is right."