Saturday, November 01, 2008
Saturday | Nov. 1 | Got news, or a question?
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39 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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I'm visiting my parents this weekend!
ReplyDeleteThis will be a most unpopular contribution, however, some employees could be targeted in regards to the burden they impose on the company because of expensive health insurance claims. Large families (including those with high-risk pregnancies and pre-term babies requiring costly level 2 and 3 neo-natal intensive care). Medical conditions requiring a lot of care (cancer, smokers, diabetes, excessive weight, etc.) Those with "hands in two pots" (I know there is a monthly fee for those with a spouse who has benefits elsewhere but maybe that's not enough). Our location has footed the bill for all of the above including at least two gastric bypasses for our over-indulging folks.
ReplyDeleteThis, of course, would be illegal as well as immoral. But when has Gannett done things in an upstanding manner?
Hey, if you ever signed up for Wellness Works, you put a target on your head for a $25 gift card.
ReplyDeleteHigh blood pressure? Overweight? Asthma? Smoker? Drinker? Family history of anything?
I'd like to trust that such information would stay private and just be used as part of a "statistical study". But I can't.
Did anyone else have empty buildings yesterday afternoon?
ReplyDeleteAt 3pm our sales and online areas were EMPTY. They had all left to take their kids trick or treating, or start partying themselves.
Our publisher came through at 4:30 and asked the graphic artists where everyone was, and why we were still there - of course, we had Sunday's ads to work on, we couldn't just blow it off.
Now, guess whose job is going to be outsourced?
Eight publishing division jobs posted the past three days for Gannett.
ReplyDeleteQuestion, for the local publisher, of GCI. Since Gannett, seem to be laying off at all newspaper. It give the impressions, that every paper in the Gannett's chain is losing money. So the questions, for your local publishers, is> IS YOUR LOCAL PAPER MAKING PROFITS? How much percentage wise?
ReplyDeletei am 54 years old and have been with the paper since 1992. if i were to resign monday versus getting laid off, wouldn't i still receive one week's pay a year for every year i've worked, as pension?
ReplyDeleteIs Gannett using pension money to pay severence costs?
ReplyDeleteI think if you quit, you get nothing, unless you work under other contractual terms, such as a union.
ReplyDeleteThe last layoffs definitely targeted certain people who were not liked, for whatever reasons no one can determine at my place. That really sent morale spiraling downward, so this notice of a month to brace for another layoff just sent morale over the cliff. Our paper won't give a rhyme or reason. I guess in an "at will" employment state and without a union, they don't have to give a reason. But it is stupid, from a business sense, not to consider the loss of productivity because of low morale.
i've known of people who have left the the company and received their pension of one week per year they've worked. what i'm wondering is if the severance pay is in addition to your pension or if they are using your pension as severance.
ReplyDeleteJim,
ReplyDeleteDid your weeks of severance pay come off the top of your pension distribution?
I work for a technology company now and I have to say, GCI has far better benefits and even lay-off benefits than we have here. having those benefits all those years is something many of us took for granted.
ReplyDeleteYou won't find that in many places.
They can't use your pension fund for severence. If they did there would be a whole lot of lawsuits out there.
ReplyDeleteNow, if you mean, can they 'borrow' the money from the pension fund to pay your severence may be another story. Your pension is given to you as a lump sum when your severence runs out. Of course, if the company were to go belly-up and file for banktrupcy I'm not sure what would happen.
ReplyDeleteAs for Gannett Benefits, they are OK. If you add in the vacation and personal days they are great.
ReplyDeleteI left after 6 years to pursue a career as a stay at home dad. I got insurance for myself and my newborn son for $236 a month with a $30 co-pay. That is a great deal for a non-smoker guy in his forties. The plan covers everything and is through Blue Cross Blue Shield.
One thing I can tell you that I heard from an H/R Director is take your sick days. All of them. And if I was still there I would be taking a couple a week until the first week in December. They have to pay you for vacation earned and personal days, but don't have to pay you for Sick days.
Don't worry about the work you will miss or the work that piles up. It will all be there if you survive this round of lay offs. Gannett does not care about you and your family, so you should not worry about a little work piling up.
Again out there, anyone have any idea what's going on with the FINANCE PROJECT?!?!? Which site is taking over what functions? When are their start up dates for each function? And how is each function to be handled in the local papers office when OR until they're ready? Getting really mixed messages from different managers as to what's going on. One says Missouri is taking over billing/accounts receivables and we're bundling up our checks we get and mailing them out - another says a lock box will be set up but not for a while yet. Another one says Gen. Ledger could go at anytime, and yet another ssys not until Accts. Pay. goes which isn't supposed to be until Jan. If anyone has ANY clue or some kind of timetable it would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteNot that it should matter so much because I'll probably one of the ones laid off in Dec. anyway - but I'd still like to know how things will be done over the next month.
Also, did they (Indie and Miss) get NEW buildings - must be nice!
To ANON12:05: No, Missouri (which is "Mo"; "Miss" is Mississippi) hasn't gotten a new building. And things are just a gloomy here as everywhere else.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, many people here in Springfield are upset that finance (whatever portion it turns out to be) is coming here. Because there had been some hope that Springfield, being so isolated from the rest of the company, might get sold. And even thought there would be no guarantee that new owners would be any better than GCI, many were ready to roll the dice.
But I guess that Springfield still makes too much money for GCI to let go -- although you'd never know it by the cost-slashing actions that have taken place and are continuing to take place here.
Just one of those "feel good" recollections of the past at one of the now infamous NJ Group papers. A highly successful classified advertising sale rep. had decided to go into an independent business. He gave Gannett two days notice! The manager of the department said that the least notice he could have given was two weeks. He replied "Oh, if the situation were reversed and you wanted me out of here, I would have been told to pack my things and would have been escorted out immediately"! One for our side!!!
ReplyDelete11:02 a.m.: My severance was unrelated to my pension. Indeed, I received the full lump-sum pension payout I was due.
ReplyDelete12:05 p.m.: I'm trying to get a schedule for the migration of work under the finance project start-up in Springfield and Indianapolis. As soon as I get one, I'll post details.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know if Springfield asked for or received a tax abatement or any kind of government support for its finance center like Indy did? (Wasn't Indy's package close to $1 million?)
ReplyDelete@1:56 PM: I wouldn't want to burn any bridges I didn't have to, but if the only way to jump to a new opportunity was to stiff the current employer, well, such is life. Loyalty and courtesy are both two-way streets.
ReplyDeleteNot getting answer from HR. Does the layoff severance include health care? Guessing it does not.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 1:46 - Sorry, didn't mean to disrespect your state, knew that, my bad, thanks for the correct! Sorry to hear things are gloomy - thought you'd all be excited to be getting so many new jobs at your site. Anyone getting promos or raise hikes to take over all finance from the 84 papers or are they expecting the staff already there to do it?!? Actually we heard they were hiring all new to handle it and that's why the tax break for GCI in one of the 2 states. And as usual a misdirect from mgmt I guess - we were also told that "new sites are being built" in MO and Indie. Guess that was wrong too. Did you guys get a time table and how about what was said about the "system blowing up" for A/P? Give us the scoop if you have it! Thanks!
ReplyDelete3:28, generally lay-offs include medical benefits during the severance and then you can pay into cobra for 18 months. (At least that is what I was given - one week per year worked with medical)
ReplyDeleteI have been with Gannett 15 years and I am worried about being targeted because my spouse was diagnosed with a serious heart disease last year which has resulted in several hospital stays and thousands of dollars in medical care. Heart transplant is now being recommended. I'm sure the higher-ups will have this in mind when they make the cuts.
ReplyDelete@11:51 AM Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete"One thing I can tell you that I heard from an H/R Director is take your sick days. All of them. And if I was still there I would be taking a couple a week until the first week in December. They have to pay you for vacation earned and personal days, but don't have to pay you for Sick days."
Just make sure this won't affect your severance. At my non-Gannett paper, severance was based on the average of the last three months of pay, minus things like sick time and disability.
Interesting note from springfield where the employees were hoping they were being sold. I've heard that same feeling among my peers at many, many other locations.
ReplyDeleteYes, but sold to WHOM? What company would be a better owner?
ReplyDeleteAnswer that question, please.
Scripps.
ReplyDeleteAre they looking to buy papers? How are their profits doing? Are they more innovative with Web integration?
ReplyDeleteI'm not trying to be a b'stard here ... I just wonder if ANY company these days has a good plan to save journalism. GCI obviously doesn't, but what are the alternatives?
I wish Apple would buy newspapers.
ReplyDeleteScripps is debt free, and muddling along fine without much Internet presence because they can't figure out how anyone is going to make any money from it. Their two big cash cows in Florida are suffering from the same woes as other Florida papers, but they do have access to cash if they wanted to do it. I frankly don't see it. They are waiting for Billy Dean Singleton's empire to fall apart so they can pick up the Denver Post (Scripps owns the plant in that JOA). I am scratching my head trying to figure out what Springfield would do for Scripps.
ReplyDeleteNJ here. Bridgewater to be exact. Apparently there are some here who think they are above being let go. Last week I have never heard so much whining and complaining. I happen to need my job for my mortgage, college tuition and groceries. There are some of us who come in here and work our asses off, and then there are the ones who come in at 9:45 (8:30 start time), and leave at 5pm on the dot. Some departments are completley out of control of the managers - mainly classified who lets the sales people and inside sales people take over. Circulation is running wild and retail advertising is packed full of incompetents - mainly in management. Let's hope that some sound and just decisons are made in this next round of cuts.
ReplyDelete5:10 no you will not be a target. Gannett is a huge company and they pay very close attention to the laws....regardless of what some people want to believe.
ReplyDeleteI have a hangnail. Will I be targeted in this round?
ReplyDeleteHELP! I understand that the Life Style section and it's reporters are being targeted. Please say "It ain't so, Joe" This is the one section where the female rules. Remember, they earn money, buy most everything and most of all PURCHASE PAPERS. Maybe, revamp, but keep this section and ask the reporters to bring forth new ideas for the female population. We thank you, Gannett, Inc.
ReplyDeleteUnder the Gannett model of indentured corporate servitude, individual newspapers are forced to pay a good percentage of their profit margins to the parent company when they really can't afford Gannett's stewardship, terrible that it is. Independent newspapers would be able to invest that money in their work force and operations. Chain ownership offers little benefit to its captive papers and TV stations. If anything, it's a big minus with all of the corporate baggage that has to be paid for and all of the questionable business ventures that suck precious cash from the struggling newspapers.
ReplyDeleteto those dising the features sections: i don't have exact numbers, but i can tell you that more males open the features sections for comics, crossword, tv lisings etc than females open the sports section.
ReplyDeleteand i second those that say women hold the purse strings and make buying decisions, so not wise to piss them off.
everytime something changes in our seections (a comic strip is dropped, tv listing change etc ) we spend hours on the phone trying to chill out pissed off readers instead of tellig them the dirty truth: we took away the stuff you like so corporate fatcats can keep their bonuses while your favorite former local writers do p.r., work part time or substitute-teach.