Detroit Free Press staff have until July 18 to apply for one of 150 buyouts extended to employees at the paper and affiliated businesses. Arizona Republic workers were given a similar offer in May. Ditto for the New Jersey papers. And, of course, USA Today bought out 43 news staffers late last year; I was one of them.
"Buyout," I believe, is a term from the auto industry, where many employees work under union contracts. Paying those aging workers to leave effectively buys out their contracts. In reality, it's just a fancy term for a layoff.I was about to turn 51, when USA Today offered me two weeks for every year of service, plus continued medical benefits, if I'd quit. I had worked for GCI 20 years, so I'd get nearly a year's salary. It was a scary decision to make because I knew there'd be no turning back. My well-paid job would disappear forever once I left. Plus, I'd never get another traditional journalism job paying the $105,000 USAT paid me as a business news editor and reporter.
But I knew I'd be leaving at some point, joining a wave of journalists losing jobs in coming years. (About 900 such jobs got axed last week alone.) To be blunt, there was no advantage in delaying the inevitable. I needed to retrain, start over in a lower-paying job, then work my way back up. I could make the transition right away. Or I could wait, and face even more competition for work from thousands of other jobless journalists -- at a time when I'd be that much older.
Plus, buyouts often are extended under the threat of a layoff if an insufficient number of workers volunteer to quit. Don't apply, and you might be laid off anyway -- but under financial terms that won't be as generous. That's apparently what happened at the N.J. papers.
Now, I don't have children, so I don't have the same financial pressures many working parents have. And I've managed my money carefully over the years, with an eye toward the possibility I might need to make this sort of move. So, I was prepared for a couple years of little or no income while I regrouped.
Downside of 'gutting it out'
I suspect many staffers in their mid- to late-50s hope to "gut it out,'' as a USAT co-worker told me -- planning to hang in until traditional retirement age. That strategy might work when you're older.
But suppose you're in your mid-40s. What happens if you somehow survive a few more years, but then lose your job in your early 50s? Do you really think it's going to be easier to retrain at that point, when there's that much more to learn about online video, social networking and all the other 21st century journalism tech skills?Some of my readers are already thinking along those lines. "I think it's time to consider abandoning the business, unless you know for sure you'll have a job when the industry has finally finished its free fall,'' one reader said early today, in a comment on my post about employees working harder to avoid layoffs. "Looking for another job in this economy is not something I prefer to do, but I am NOT leaving my fate in the hands of Gannett."
Your thoughts, in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, use this link from a non-work computer; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.
[Image: Aisle, by San Jose Mercury News designer Martin Gee. It's from his Reduction In Force page on Flickr -- photos of the Silicon Valley paper's newsroom after endless rounds of layoffs]
Keep in mind, Jim, that not everyone who works at GCI is in news operations. I see a lot of discussion of the company's cuts impacting reporters and editors, but not much about those in IT, marketing, finance, circulation or any of the other functions necessary to keeping a media company running. Keep in mind, too, that the terms offered to USAT staffers who took the news-side buyouts were much more generous than the terms given to employees on the business side, who were laid off, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteGood points, @7:49 AM
ReplyDeleteIt's a good theory. But I argue that other employers are not going to be interested in people in their late 40s or early 50s, no matter what skills they've earned by retraining. I think I'd be lucky to get a job at Starbucks if I get laid off (though I see now they're in trouble too). Also, I am sure the terms at my penny-wise, pound-foolish newspaper would in no way match the deal offered at USAT, and we do not earn the kinds of salaries in the first place that would make it manageable to go for even a brief period without a salary. But thanks for the food for thought.
ReplyDeleteThere are still lots of high paying jobs on employment sites. Here's a few selected by About.com as the best employment sites:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.realmatch.com
http://www.indeed.com
http://www.simplyhired.com
http://www.craigslist.com
Good luck!
I tried the toughing it out route. Not a good plan. Now I'm home writing on a blog at 9:30 in the morning. Try looking for a job in your late-50s.
ReplyDeleteI suggest perfecting your resume and cranking up your job search now, while you're still employed. Then take another job as soon as you get a good offer. Or, enroll in school to prepare to do something new.
You know there's a very good chance your job will go away ultimately. Give up the denial now. Be proactive.
I spent five months out of work. Now I drive a Mercedes. It's not the job, it's the skills you developed at Gannett. They will dovetail nicely with several professions: law - litigation support, PR, teaching, tech, consulting, etc. Take any job. It likely will lead you to a better job.
ReplyDeleteJim's right. I'm the same age he is, and I went through exactly the same thought process as I pondered whether to take a buyout a year ago from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which had just been sold by McClatchy to a bunch of Wall Street strip-and-flippers.
ReplyDeleteIt was sad and painful. But ultimately I decided I couldn't hang on for 15 more years as a reporter at a major metro paper, even though all my editors tried to convince me to stay, told me I was the kind of person they needed to keep.
That was gratifying, but I had to choose with my head instead of my heart. I took a job with a marketing/PR firm. The work is challenging and rewarding, and I make more money than I did as a well-paid reporter, although there is more economic uncertainty than I knew during my 20-year reporting career. If our agency loses a big client -- and it happens even to the best of them; churn is an inevitable part of agency life -- then we all wonder where our next paycheck will come from.
But a year later, the Star Tribune is defaulting on its loans, its new owners have written off 3/4 of their investment and rumors of massive layoffs abound. If they don't cut 50+ more newsroom jobs by Labor Day, I'll be astonished. And that's after about 100 of the formerly 400-person newsroom took buyouts over the past year.
More than 10 years ago, I worked at the Charlotte Observer with a brilliant business editor named Jon Talton. (He now blogs from Seattle as Rogue Journalist. Jim, maybe he's someone you could add to your blogroll.) Back in 1995, when most people were just getting their first dial-up AOL accounts, Talton used to shake his head and say, "It's 1910, and we're in the buggy-whip business."
Back then, nobody took him seriously. Events have proven him prescient.
Jim is right. If you're under 50, your chances of riding this out to the finish line are slim.
John Reinan is right about Talton. I worked with him in Phoenix before he was unceremoniously dumped from the Arizona Republic (he was the best business columnist paper at the paper but Arizona's political right hated him which sealed his fate with the paper's kowtowing management). Talton predicted AZ's real estate crash with absolute accuracy 4 years before it hit. I think the paper misses him more than he misses the paper. His Rogue Columnist blog is a must read.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's right -- it's Rogue Columnist, not Rogue Journalist.
ReplyDeleteI "retired" (non-Gannett) in 05 at age 59 from a department head post at a regional publishing company. A few months later I was working in public information for a university and have moved on to yet another. Anonymous 9:39 has it correct - it's the skills package, and if it's good enough the age is the applicant is irrelevant. In fact, the very worst part of the process is trying to explain what happened to newspapers. We're all inside baseball, but others sure aren't, and most cannot understand how such a thriving business could implode so rapidly. Short version: no vision, monopolistic-like behavior, risk-averse, focused on this quarter's numbers (and that's what happens when executive bonuses are linked to those numbers), no research and development, and overall denial a sea change was underway. Suck it up and get out now before The Reaper appears at your cubicle. You'll be glad you did.
ReplyDeleteTough and tougher but take the buyout as soon as possible. I've been lucky to survive thus far and still on the hunt. It is discrimination, just accept it.
ReplyDeleteI'd break the fingers of any of my children who would venture into newspapering.
Forget getting re-connected. I've never met so many chagrined and negative people. You might think that I spread anthrax or something.
You are marked people, so head towards a new industry, and a positive management climate.
Get out now. And forget Gannett. Bad karma, very bad.
Jim,
ReplyDeleteI'm the one who posted that comment on the other thread.
All the signs are there; it's now a matter of looking in the right places and preparing my resume.
Yet, I want to stick around...for the buyout, and for the money. Then, as one reader on this thread suggested, take a lower-paying job (or two) and get education for another field.
Dubow and the entire corporate staff are supposed to show leadership under fire. Even with the implosion going on around the industry.
ReplyDeleteThe panic is a poor substitute for leadership.
So much for highly paid executives.
If I were to be offered a buyout now, I'd have to really lean towards taking it. As it is, anyone who isn't keeping an eye out for other opportunities is not being fair to themsleves. I wouldn't stand to get a lot of money out of a buyout if it were offered. But with the current direction things are going, the current management, and this last quarter (really interested to hear how they spin THIS one) more job cuts are pretty well inevitable.
ReplyDeleteNorth Jersey Media Group just cut their buyouts to 12 weeks maximum.
ReplyDeleteCan't afford the cash drain. I doubt the Borg family is broke.
True Capitalists.
Next.
At the beginning of the year, Westchester offered "voluntary" buyouts to 53 employees age 55 or over with at least 15 years of service. Offer included one week's pay for each year of service; a two-year bump in pension benefits (nice considering the upcoming pension freeze, but a necessary sweetener in light of the mediocre one week's pay for each year of service); and medical, dental and vision insurance at the active employee rate for three years. In total, pretty much in line with what has been offered at other Gannett sites in the past year, as reported by this blog and the affected newspapers themselves. Westchester never reported on how many of the 53 took the package.
ReplyDeleteAnybody out there know?
I see on Friday, the Journal News publisher said that the company has to cut 4 percent out of expenses in the next six months.
Wonder what's on tap?
Gannett stock dipped below $20 / share this afternoon and is currently trading at $19.87, down 97 cents on a volume of 5.8 million shares.
ReplyDeleteUpdate: Gannett closed down $1.01 / share at $19.83 on heavy trading of 6.1 million shares.
ReplyDeleteThe poor guy that did the "Reduction in Force" on flickr got laid off on June 27th while he was on vacation. How sad.
ReplyDeleteIf you've put in enough years to get a decent buyout offer to give yourself a cushion, take it!! Look at it this way: after all those years of multi-tasking at Gannett galley ship, doing more with less and juggling god knows how many jobs, you're probably one of the most efficient, productive workers a company outside the industry can ask for (and even inside - many of my fellow Gannett galley slaves, once they have made a jump to another paper, say the work load is lighter and their new bosses are impressed by their productivity.) You DO have a skills set that is marketable, regardless of age. Take it from someone who took the NJ buyout and who is now weighing several job offers...
ReplyDelete20+ editorial people tried to get the indy buyout last year, but they gave it to only 5. many others wished they could apply. hr was horrible -- hard to get any useful information because gannett got rid of all in hr who had a clue about anything.
ReplyDeleteI, too, would love to know how many in Westchester took the buyout. Also: How many people have left recently. It seems like there have been A LOT of departures, including some high profile reporters.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is left but is under the 55 year old buyout age, I am wondering about future layoffs.
NJ's 55/15 buyouts offered 2 weeks of pay for every year of service capping out at 26 weeks. The folks in the Ad Design Services department (those who lost their jobs to India outsourcing) were offered 1 week of pay for every year of service and the policy was last in first out. I don't know what sort of "package" was offered to others who were simply laid-off.
ReplyDeleteBut I don't think any of the above downsizing helped. I project more cuts before the year is out,
7:05, the cap was 52 weeks - Do you think there will be another round of voluntary buyouts or just layoffs- anyone in the know?
ReplyDeleteThink about those of us 30 and under. It's one thing to have to worry about the next 10 years of your working life, but I have at least three decades to consider. And the way things are heading now, journalists will never be paid what they currently make again. Stripped-down business models mean stripped-down income. And as much as I like my profession, I don't like it enough to work for 30K a year until retirement.
ReplyDeleteYes, many of us have the skill sets many older journalists are trying to learn. On some levels, it's almost intuitive. But those expanded skill sets won't translate into dollars in the journalism profession.
I think you'll see a mass exodus of young talent from the industry in the next few years for two primary reasons: 1, cutbacks and layoffs comes at the front lines, which is where the bulk of young journalists work, and 2, coming out of college with 20K in loans and taking a job that doesn't pay any more than assistant manager at McDonald's and has even less potential for advancement isn't an appealing thought.
RE: As someone who is left but is under the 55 year old buyout age, I am wondering about future layoffs.
ReplyDeleteThat was last years buyout age, it will be at least 50 this year maybe 45. And if you are valuable to the company don't be foolish and think that will save your job, it is just a matter of time, you will be gone too.
Jim, does the buyout offer ever include special conditions that the employee must accept? Such as the non-disparagement clause you alluded to in a previous post. Or, like doctors and other professionals, a non-compete clause. Or any other terms by which the employee must modify one's behavior. Please consider a post on this issue, and perhaps encourage a "crowd sourcing" response in the comments.
ReplyDeleteAs a former Gannettoid, I can promise you there is life after.
ReplyDeleteI had the misfortune of running afoul of Gannett's psychopath editor Mark Silverman and knew my days were numbered so here's what I did:
-- My wife and I sold are larger home, got a $200,000 profit, paid off the bills and downsized into a smaller home.
-- I took a reporting job at competing (and more financially sound wire service).
-- After getting that job I told Gannett to kiss my behind and resigned the same day. I had enough money in the bank to stay home a few months until the next job began. I used that time taking short trips and swimming with the kids at the community pool.
-- After taking the new reporting job I began to explore jobs in public relations, a field I was interested in for awhile. Last year I landed one at a major trade association. A previous poster on this string is right on! You can take your Gannett skills and move into a related field.
-- Two years later my lifestyle is different -- I gave up the bigger house but I don't work for a dysfunctional, unappreciative, dying organization any more. I work 8 hour days (no more mandatory overtime!!). I get extra holidays like the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. My bosses even let us go a half day before the Fourth of July. My work is fulfilling but not overly stressful. And although no job is perfect I don't have to worry about one fourth of the bullshit that goes down at the average Gannett publication.
So for those Gannettoids worried about the future...there is life after..It will be a different life but it will be a life and it could be a great one...So be brave, do some planning and take the leap if you want!