As expected, Gannett just announced another round of unpaid first-quarter furloughs for most of its employees, the fifth such round imposed on the workforce over the past three years.
This will be the fourth consecutive time they've fallen in the first quarter, suggesting the company is now locked in a cycle of early-year furloughs as it struggles to deal with continued revenue declines.
The move was disclosed by the chief executives of the U.S. Community Publishing newspaper division and the recently created Gannett Publishing Services, which handles printing and distribution. "The furloughs will impact most USCP and GPS employees. However there is a minimum salary level set for implementation,'' Bob Dickey and Evan Ray said in a memo to employees.
The two divisions are believed to employ more than 20,000 of GCI's more than 30,000 global workers.
Furloughs have saved the company a combined $67 million since 2009, according to filings with federal securities regulators. (See chart, left.)
Dickey's $600K bonus
But the latest round is certain to renew anger over multimillion-dollar bonuses to Dickey and other top executives in recent years, awards that have eaten into the furlough savings and drawn sharp criticism in the national press.
Dickey, for example, got paid $3.4 million last year, including a $600,000 cash bonus. His total compensation jumped from $1.9 million in 2009.
Then, last month, CEO Craig Dubow resigned for medical reasons, taking with him a retirement and disability payout estimated at $37.1 million.
This year's first-quarter furlough was imposed widely across the newspaper division. But there were two more, in the second and third quarter, that were limited to about 1,000 highly paid division employees.
Today's announcement comes amid speculation among Gannet Blog readers that GCI may soon order more layoffs. The furlough memo didn't address that possibility. Rather, it said: "Furloughs . . . are the best option for USCP and GPS to help manage their costs in this uncertain business climate and to help us mitigate other cost reduction strategies."
Text of memo
Nov. 29, 2011
To: All US Community Publishing (USCP) and Gannett Publishing Services (GPS) employees
From: USCP President Bob Dickey and GPS President Evan Ray
This year we’ve made great strides in enhancing the ways we meet the needs of our consumers and business customers. We continue to adapt, evolve and redefine who we are and what we do to help propel the company forward. It is greatly appreciated by the entire management team.
However, we are all acutely aware the economy is not improving as quickly or as strongly as we wish and companies across America, and globally too, have had to respond to a difficult economic environment.
We need to continue managing costs and lowering expenses to align with revenue and invest in future growth opportunities. While USCP has been successful in finding new digital opportunities and building digital revenue -- which has been one of our primary goals -- this growth has not offset lagging revenue from some of our more traditional USCP advertisers. Those advertisers remain good, loyal customers of ours but their businesses are under pressure because of the economy and they have continued to reduce their spending.
Because of these challenges, USCP and GPS will institute furloughs generally beginning first quarter of 2012, ending Sunday, March 25. A small number of sites will have a different furlough calendar because of the seasonality of their markets.
Furloughs are difficult and Gannett’s management team does not take this action lightly. All of Gannett’s divisions are approaching these economic challenges in their own ways. Furloughs -- however -- are the best option for USCP and GPS to help manage their costs in this uncertain business climate and to help us mitigate other cost reduction strategies.
The furloughs will impact most USCP and GPS employees. However there is a minimum salary level set for implementation. Your supervisor or Human Resources partner will notify you if you will be impacted by this furlough. We are letting you know as quickly as the decision was made so that you can make plans as needed.
Non-union USCP and GPS employees in certain income brackets will be furloughed for five business days during the specified furlough time period. We will ask union representatives for their support of the furloughs as well. Exempt, salaried employees in certain income brackets must take one full payroll week within the pay period. Sales people and non-exempt, hourly employees in certain income brackets will also take five days at any pre-approved time -- although the days do not need to be consecutive. The attached FAQ should answer questions you may have.
We appreciate that everyone at the local level is focused on driving top line revenue growth. Please continue to support these efforts anyway you can. Your efforts are reshaping our division, our industry and our company as we steer through challenging times. Keep up the good work and we’ll keep building the future of our business together.
As always, please feel free to email us with any questions or ideas.
Regards,
Bob (rdickey@gannett.com) and Evan (eray@gannett.com)
This will be the fourth consecutive time they've fallen in the first quarter, suggesting the company is now locked in a cycle of early-year furloughs as it struggles to deal with continued revenue declines.
 |
| Dickey |
The two divisions are believed to employ more than 20,000 of GCI's more than 30,000 global workers.
Dickey's $600K bonus
But the latest round is certain to renew anger over multimillion-dollar bonuses to Dickey and other top executives in recent years, awards that have eaten into the furlough savings and drawn sharp criticism in the national press.
Dickey, for example, got paid $3.4 million last year, including a $600,000 cash bonus. His total compensation jumped from $1.9 million in 2009.
Then, last month, CEO Craig Dubow resigned for medical reasons, taking with him a retirement and disability payout estimated at $37.1 million.
This year's first-quarter furlough was imposed widely across the newspaper division. But there were two more, in the second and third quarter, that were limited to about 1,000 highly paid division employees.
Today's announcement comes amid speculation among Gannet Blog readers that GCI may soon order more layoffs. The furlough memo didn't address that possibility. Rather, it said: "Furloughs . . . are the best option for USCP and GPS to help manage their costs in this uncertain business climate and to help us mitigate other cost reduction strategies."
Text of memo
Nov. 29, 2011
To: All US Community Publishing (USCP) and Gannett Publishing Services (GPS) employees
From: USCP President Bob Dickey and GPS President Evan Ray
This year we’ve made great strides in enhancing the ways we meet the needs of our consumers and business customers. We continue to adapt, evolve and redefine who we are and what we do to help propel the company forward. It is greatly appreciated by the entire management team.
However, we are all acutely aware the economy is not improving as quickly or as strongly as we wish and companies across America, and globally too, have had to respond to a difficult economic environment.
We need to continue managing costs and lowering expenses to align with revenue and invest in future growth opportunities. While USCP has been successful in finding new digital opportunities and building digital revenue -- which has been one of our primary goals -- this growth has not offset lagging revenue from some of our more traditional USCP advertisers. Those advertisers remain good, loyal customers of ours but their businesses are under pressure because of the economy and they have continued to reduce their spending.
Because of these challenges, USCP and GPS will institute furloughs generally beginning first quarter of 2012, ending Sunday, March 25. A small number of sites will have a different furlough calendar because of the seasonality of their markets.
Furloughs are difficult and Gannett’s management team does not take this action lightly. All of Gannett’s divisions are approaching these economic challenges in their own ways. Furloughs -- however -- are the best option for USCP and GPS to help manage their costs in this uncertain business climate and to help us mitigate other cost reduction strategies.
The furloughs will impact most USCP and GPS employees. However there is a minimum salary level set for implementation. Your supervisor or Human Resources partner will notify you if you will be impacted by this furlough. We are letting you know as quickly as the decision was made so that you can make plans as needed.
Non-union USCP and GPS employees in certain income brackets will be furloughed for five business days during the specified furlough time period. We will ask union representatives for their support of the furloughs as well. Exempt, salaried employees in certain income brackets must take one full payroll week within the pay period. Sales people and non-exempt, hourly employees in certain income brackets will also take five days at any pre-approved time -- although the days do not need to be consecutive. The attached FAQ should answer questions you may have.
We appreciate that everyone at the local level is focused on driving top line revenue growth. Please continue to support these efforts anyway you can. Your efforts are reshaping our division, our industry and our company as we steer through challenging times. Keep up the good work and we’ll keep building the future of our business together.
As always, please feel free to email us with any questions or ideas.
Regards,
Bob (rdickey@gannett.com) and Evan (eray@gannett.com)
Averaging about one per year doesn't seem bad, when you consider other news places. I used to work for CNHI, which since like late 2009, has pretty much had a week's worth of furloughs every quarter. So four unpaid week's worth of vacation each year.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying what Gannett is doing is right, but in the scheme of some other ones, the furloughs aren't as bad. It's unfortunate any of it is happening.
So sorry to hear this news.
ReplyDeleteMakes me sick.
ReplyDeleteI have not received the email. Anyone know the salary cutoff?
ReplyDeleteHeck, they have to do something to get back what they paid to Dubow ...
ReplyDeleteMy furlough weeks are the best and most relaxing weeks of my life since working at this company.
ReplyDeleteSorry for all the USCP folks. How come USAT is spared this time?
ReplyDeleteExecs are supposedly talking about going after vacation time. Makes sense for papers that have almost no staff left.
ReplyDelete5:19 I would guess that it's due to the USCP bleeding the most.
ReplyDelete5:30 There's no financial savings from going after vacation time. This has been bantered about a great deal of time. It does helps with staffing but does not address financials.
Furlough weeks are indeed relaxing...until the furlough paycheck comes in...but I'm sure my creditors will understand that I need to be paid less so the execs can have their cash bonuses and big retirement payoffs...
ReplyDeleteI guess robots will report the news in Wilmington, Delaware. Oh, excuse me, they already do! Obamatons.
ReplyDeleteUSAT is now part of GPS, the letter states that GPS will be taking part in the furlough, but this USAT employee has not received an email yet. I am hoping for a furlough as I enjoy the extra week of vacation. A typical week's pay is less than $100 more than my unemployment check, I'll gladly pay $100 for an extra week off.
ReplyDeleteI respectfully suggest that Dickey and other execs give up their bonuses or take pay cuts to help get us out of this cycle of first-quarter furloughs every year. Otherwise, perhaps we need a movement: Occupy Bob Dickey's Front Lawn.
ReplyDeleteI don't pretend to be a financial wizard, but if someone could explain to me how putting a worker making 1 dollar on furlough, and then paying a coworker overtime at 1.5 dollars to cover his work is saving money I would really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteOh, Gannett.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to understand why they're are ever furloughs when the company is still turning a profit.
ReplyDeleteThey don't create long-term cost savings like layoffs would. Nearest I can tell they only serve to resurface the anger brought by Dubow's severance package, which now looks like its being paid for (in part) with forced vacations by EVERYONE else in the company.
Basically, GCI's leadership decided to pay $16M in severance bonuses in the current quarter to one individual who no longer works for the company and not to pay $10M in wages to 20,000(?) people who still do.
Hard to understand the business sense in all this.
So to give this some perspective, the furloughs have saved $67million and more than half of that went to Dubow's severance package. Brilliant strategic thinking.
ReplyDeleteMuch like the unprecedented steps needed to stem the financial meltdown in the fall of 2008, furloughs were an emergency step needed to help the company through extremely uncertain times, and employees seemed to understand that it was necessary. Now, three years later, the furloughs are just another trick in the bag for Gannett management to force employees into pay cuts (with no possible negotiation - take it or we'll lay off more of you) to assure that management can justify to the board of directors that they should receive obscene bonuses. Work conditions are so poor in my newsroom and quality has suffered so much that many staffers would welcome being laid off just to end the suffering. These Gannett bastards have no shame -- we are the 99 percent. They are the 1 percent. Why are we putting up with this? Unionize now. Strike.
ReplyDeleteI've heard the cutoff is anyone making $30,000 or more.
ReplyDeleteI agree with 5:43. No bonuses for execs as the $ they receive in bonuses makes up for lost wages during furloughs so they don't feel the hit like the rest of us do.
ReplyDeleteI've heard the people who won't be forced to take furlough are those making less than $30,000
ReplyDeleteprospective-Dickey's 600k cash bonus alone would finance my depts entire staff plus the last 2 people lost to layoffs, for 2 full years...8-10 people for 2 years vs 1 for 1 year, no wonder the economy is down.
ReplyDeleteI hate this company. The only people who "love" furloughs are lazy idiots.
ReplyDeleteTo 6:03, Yeah starting a union movement right now is the right move.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but as much as I would like it, a union is just not in the cards at any of the papers or production centers. Gannett is not very union friendly and will crush any attempts to organize before we can even spell U-N-I-O-N.
If by some strange luck workers actually got organized, it would give Gannett the excuse to move production somewhere else.
Unless you currently are in a union and working for gannett, it is just a pipe dream.
On the furlough issue. I prefer 5 days unpaid leave vs. losing employees or pay cuts. We are a one income family, which is still better than a non-income family.
(Sarcasm) Guess I'd better give up on hoping for a Christmas bonus - not that I ever got one from this Godforsaken company. Assigned to work on Christmas day instead.
ReplyDeleteThieves!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThey are asking the unions to participate? Good luck with that. They donated part of their pay already.
ReplyDeleteIf Dickey was a man he'd turn down a bonus that he surely doesn't deserve. I'd really like to hear what he thinks he's done to be entitled to not only his bonus, but also his base pay.
ReplyDeleteIf ever a person could be at a loss for words!
But hey, he's a G A N N E T T executive. How can he get rich without grabbing what was the pay and benefits of others?
"Furloughs are difficult and Gannett’s management team does not take this action lightly.... After all, the C-suite bonuses are at stake. Rest assured that if it was only rank-and-file bonuses, we wouldn't bother."
ReplyDeleteFor those of you who think the furloughs are a way to prevent layoffs, don't kid yourself. The layoffs are also coming. I'm done with this company, they take, take take and don't even have the courtesy to say please or thank you.
ReplyDeleteGOD AS MY WITNESS I WON'T BE WITH GANNETT COME Q2!!!
I will be looking for a job like crazy and at this point take anything that will pay the bills and give me some enjoyment
So much for the board of directors listening to the employee surveys this fall...I know lots of employees who said NO MORE FURLOUGHS. So much for a positive change, Gracia, you are no different. May Dickey, Gracia, the board, especially Dubow, and anyone else who made the furlough decision when Gannett is MAKING A PROFIT lay awake at night full of guilt for such greediness. Some day they will get what they deserve.
ReplyDeleteDickey - "As always, please feel free to email us with any questions or ideas."
ReplyDeleteHere's an idea...How about no bonuses and no stock awards for anybody. Period.
9:03 Ditto! Can't wait for the day that I give my notice to HR and my boss.
ReplyDeleteBTW, what DOES HR do now that they can't answer questions or be an advocate for the employees? Every week employees ask me what our HR person does because they never see her do anything. I tell them I don't know what she does between 8 and 5. It sends a bad message loud and clear when all other exempt people work more than she does.
No business ethics!
ReplyDeleteI was laid off from a Gannett site in June. This confirms to me as yet another reason that it was good that I got out then. I agree with 9:38 -- the company has flawed business ethics.
ReplyDeleteFurloughs before the layoffs. I am so tired of the lazy, complaining people that are still employed by Gannett. If this company is so bad, get out. There are people in the NJ group who hide behind sick days, medical leave and everything else they can think of. With kids in college I need to work and I have unemployed friends who feel the same way. If this job is not for you - be it production, circulation, human resources or whatever, get out.
ReplyDeleteWe're operating on almost empty across many sites. Furloughs only mean that someone else will have to work even harder to cover the absence. Really sad and really pathetic.
ReplyDelete9:27 must be from Reno. If not, we have the same. Doors shut, voicemail and email never, ever replied to, never there. Everyone from top to bottom knows that she will not be in or reply to even the easiest questions.
ReplyDeleteWhen you give your notice to HR, she may not know until the following year.
Yikes. I just applied to work at a gannett business. how do I know that if hired, they wont lay me off a month later
ReplyDeleteWe do not allow extra hours or overtime when furloughs come, so the math works right at our site.
ReplyDeleteLazy comment. Double the hours the weeks before and weeks after. regular hours are exempt, 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. All vacations and days off are spent answering calls, going in, replying to voicemail, email, texts and cell phone calls. Everyone doing extra jobs when coworkers are on furlough. But, some of us do like them for actual rest that week.
10:35 you'll wish they lay you off after a month of working with them
ReplyDelete10:24 Just know that when they are finished chewing you up, you will be spit out on the sidewalk as well. Don't blame people who are looking out for themselves, because the Big G will work you into the ground. Six feet under.
ReplyDelete10:35 A few days ago someone posted about a reporter who relocated his family to take a job in the midwest, and then was laid off by Gannett a few months later. Be very careful. There has to be something better for you out there.
ReplyDeleteDickey wrote: "The attached FAQ should answer questions you may have."
ReplyDeleteIt would be very, very interesting to see a copy of that FAQ.
As always, I'm at jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]
Fort Myers gets furloughs in the second quarter, according to the higher ups. They're putting it off for "season" which is the busy tourist and snowbird time down here. They haven't done this in years past, so staffing levels must be near the critical point.
ReplyDeleteYou keep up the good work, too, Bob.
ReplyDeleteWow; that FAQ just arrived in my in box.
ReplyDeleteDoes the FAQ mention that President's Rings will contain I/52nds less gold.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis company is all about sucking the towns dry in which they have newspapers and tv stations, and funneling that money to the Crystal Palace.
ReplyDeleteThis company is a destroyer of local communities.
From the #s I just saw, looks like the readers of Gannett papers online are taking "news furloughs" as well.
ReplyDeleteSure am glad Detroit isn't impacted.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind furloughs if the company was LOSING money, but we're not. So, WTF?
ReplyDeleteIsn't this verbatim to the other furlough letters?
ReplyDeleteThe disconnect between rich and poor is huge these days. The cronies at the top are the only ones benefiting from working for Gannett. The readers are the ones who are losing the most.
ReplyDeleteI love how these newspaper higher ups keep citing how "the economy is not improving as quickly or as strongly as we wish..." - that is NOT the problem newspapers have.
ReplyDeleteShit, the economy could be booty-poppin' on a headstand (thank you Nelly) and newspapers would STILL be in lots of trouble. This is like the person we've all interviewed who "fell on hard times" because of the recession - only, they've been out of work since 1999...
For those in Wisconsin the legislature recently changed the law and put in place a one-week waiting period for unemployment. That means those furloughed are shit out of luck.
ReplyDeleteI went through this with Gannett TV. They furloughed me twice "to prevent further layoffs". Then they laid me off. I gave them all I had and had to spend a lot of $$ to move just to get another job. I'm still upset. How dare they after shelling out bonus and severence $$ to these clowns. I loved my job and my blood pressure still goes up when I read this stuff. Gannett people, start looking because this company could care less about you.
ReplyDelete@10:42 Recall Walker!
ReplyDelete10:58 - now when I get layed off I don't have to worry about losing my house to higher property taxes. Waiting for that recall, voting for him again.
ReplyDeleteMostly waiting for the unlimited advertising dollars the election brings. Wish we had a majors team to get some of it.
I left Gannett after I realized I wasn't even treading water financially. I work for money, not to go deeper in debt or distress. leave gannett if you can....
ReplyDelete"All for one and... that's all" is the mantra of Gannett Executives. $67 million dollars saved? We all know that $37 million of that went to fund Dubows golden parachute.
ReplyDeleteFYI, all USCP sites have been told to budget for furloughs in the first and second quarters of 2012. More fun times ahead.
ReplyDeleteAlso: Active discussions afoot to stop doing this annual charade of "furlough announcements," since we know we're going to have to do them every year. Among the ideas are: 1) Permanently reduce pay across USCP to equal each individual's furlough savings; 2) Alter our vacation benefit to either allow for us all to schedule two weeks of unpaid leave in addition to our vacation time; 3) Simply redefine full-time employment as a 50-week year, not a 52-week year (much in the same way that managers technically scheduled to work 7.5 hour days). No matter what gets done, everyone needs to know this: Furloughs in some form or fashion are here to stay.
#occupygannett
ReplyDeleteLeft Gannett in Dec. 2008 a few months later, the first furloughs came. Was blessed to have left when I did as it didn't affect me and got paid more than I would if I stayed for 5 more years. My management team was drinking the Kool-aid telling our team how great and strong this company is. Heard from my old co-workers recently, they're getting the same verbage, even though the company is not great and strong, it's a great company. Whatever. 3 years removed from Gannett and couldn't be happier!
ReplyDeleteThe incredible thing to me was the reaction to what was/is a pay reduction. Most sheeple at my site in Q1 09 just saw it as "time off!" And who wouldn't want time off from a shadowy hell hole of smoke and mirrors? And they also viewed it as good because it meant no layoffs. Naturally, layoffs followed the furloughs. Every single year and incidence since.
ReplyDeleteAnother hugh pay increase for Dickey -- just like Dubow (remember the 49% increase in one year?) -- in a year when almost none of the important financial numbers for GCI is positive.
ReplyDeleteHe (they) don't understand moral values. Shame!! once again.
Instead of "Dark Time" what cute little name do they give furloughs when budgeting? Gray Time? FU Time? Alms For The Poor Company Time?
ReplyDeleteOther suggestions?
I recently came off furlough. It was my choice to return. I am earning less today than I did in 2005, but I've never missed a meal and rarely missed a paycheck. I'm not a victim; I have the free will to choose. I could walk out the door at any time. There are no chains on my feet. I am entitled to nothing. I freely agreed to the terms of employment. But apparently, Gannett is holding people at gunpoint in some markets? WTF?
ReplyDelete"We need to continue managing costs and lowering expenses to align with revenue and invest in future growth opportunities." We get this in an email because the upper level execs couldn't say it to our faces with a straight face...
ReplyDeletetheir actions may not be criminal, but they are certainly immoral...
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, unfortunatly he was furloughed....
Dear Gannett-
ReplyDeleteThanks for such an egregious example of class warfare.
I have been working in the Des Moines design studio as a designer for about three months now and it's clear we are extremely top-heavy. If the four other design studios are staff similarly, we are all doomed.
ReplyDeleteWow 8:53.....either you've narrowed yourself into a corner, 10 other people got hired the same day you did, you're lying or you've been there a year and you're trying to finger someone that got hired 3 months ago.
ReplyDeleteIs it a coincidence that furloughs were announced AFTER people spent money on Black Friday and Cyber Monday that they might have held on to had they known furloughs were coming? All I can tell you is they killed my ambition for the rest of the day. Smooth move Crystal Palace!
ReplyDeleteI was laid off from Gannett in May of 2009 after several furloughs that were supposed to save jobs. Didn't save my job and won't save anyone else.
ReplyDeleteGannett News, Advanced Publications must be reading your playbook.... hundreds of layoffs the last couple months and now pay reductions to those that still get a paycheck, plus the benefits went from pretty decent to down right horrible.
ReplyDeleteHeard that a friend who works in circulation for a Gannett-owned community newspaper got her notice today. Merry Christmas.
ReplyDeleteLooks like Gannett management goes by the same rules our great congres does.
ReplyDelete