Monday, December 15, 2008

Monday Recap: We're doubling down in Detroit!

Posts you might have missed last week, while Dubow & Co. were doing the electric slide in a holiday video.
  • CareerWrecker? Giant Gannett-controlled employment site CareerBuilder laid off more than 300 workers.
  • Open Wounds: What happens when a popular co-worker gets laid off
  • Motown lowdown: The company is poised to unveil its plan to save Detroit's two dailies: the 2008 Gannett Griffon.

4 comments:

  1. I'm a reporter for the Free Press and talked with several people familiar with what is going to be revealed on Tuesday. They said the Free Press will deliver two to three days a week and lay off a significant chunk of people involved in deliveries and production. No layoffs are planned yet in the newsroom. You have to remember that the Free Press is unionized and its union members must receive a 30-day noticed of layoffs. According to my sources, the Free Press will see how everything shakes out after ending some of the delivery days before deciding on newsroom layoffs. Because the Free Press is losing more money than most Gannett papers, you can bet the layoffs in the newsroom will be significant.

    ReplyDelete
  2. All Free Press Staff --

    In a followup to Dave Hunke’s email late last week, please plan to join Paul at one of two staff meetings tomorrow (Tuesday, Dec. 16). The purpose will be to discuss our strategic plans going forward. Here’s the schedule:

    9:30 a.m. Tuesday -- In the newsroom on the first floor.
    4 p.m. Tuesday – In the Academy.

    Please plan to arrive a few minutes early for both meetings so we can get going on time.

    Thanks,
    Jody

    ReplyDelete
  3. So here is the latest about layoffs at the Free Press, according to someone knowledgeable with the plan: About 500 TEAMSTER drivers to be laid off and 1/3 of circulation and marketing employees laid off (more than 250 jobs).

    The Free Press and News will be delivered Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

    Scaled-down, one-section newspapers would be printed the other days only for the news stand.

    What going to happen to reporters, copy editors, photographers and graphic designers? Management will wait to see how the change shakes out before making those decisions.

    Gannett has little incentive to remain in Detroit, which is why it's using the city as a test. Gannett can greatly reduce its losses in Detroit by slimming down operations. It's sad.

    ReplyDelete
  4. When will the Motown papers go weekly?

    ReplyDelete

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."

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.