Mail | Dickey is 'moving too slow. The Band-Aid needs to be ripped off with one, clean jerk, rather than this slow drip-drip version of water torture'

In a comment, Anonymous@9:38 a.m. writes about buyouts, layoffs and U.S. newspaper division President Bob Dickey's strategy:

Here again are a few things to remember:

• The FY2012 budget was set with an assumption that 80% to 85% of those eligible for the buyouts will take them
• If we don't get enough to take the buyouts, group presidents will be directed to begin adjustments in the second quarter. If some sites or groups are lagging in revenue targets, they will be asked to trim payroll
• Gone are the days of centralized, coordinated, company-wide days of pain. These reductions will be scattered and varied, done so in a way to avoid the big headlines (on this blog and elsewhere) and so that local site management (publishers, general managers) appear to be making a local decision
• Furloughs remain in the budget for Q3 and, unless a miracle occurs, they will go forward
• Some group presidents are lobbying Dickey for furloughs as we know them to end. Options being pushed for FY2013: 1) Permanently reduce all salaries across the board to a level equal to what the Q1 and Q3 furloughs took away; 2) Add two unpaid weeks as a "benefit" that, in addition to vacation, could be scheduled throughout the year, rather than just being taken in a particular quarter

Remember that New Gannett must shed a third of its current employee base.

Next up: The Fort Collins experiment. If it works to expectations, groups will be asked to roll it out to many of the NT-31 sites (and some T-31 sites), where digital expertise is weak and the only way we can get the skills we need is to start anew. And, of course, fewer people in the Information Centers as a result.

None of this should be a surprise to careful readers of this blog. If you set aside the hyperbole, whining by current employees and gloating by those who have left, you can piece together from Jim's blog a fairly clear and consistent pattern of management by Bob and the U.S. Community Publishig team. He's laid out the tenets of his vision again and again:

• Consolidation
• Centralization
• Outsourcing

(I am not counting the USA Today stuff in this assessment -- they are on a path that few can read on a map, such as the Sports Media Group.)

Frankly, I think Bob's moving too slow. The Band-Aid needs to be ripped off with one, clean jerk, rather than this slow drip-drip version of water torture. Stop trying to appear like employee morale or career investment are current priorities of the company: Just say what needs to be done, in loud, blunt detail, and get it done by the end of the year. Or, even better, the end of Q2. It will push out the unwilling and motivate those willing to stay.

As always, other views are welcome. Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.