How to make a mass layoff as painful as possible; thousands of East employees are left in the dark

Including this latest one, I've covered five mass layoffs -- those involving at least hundreds of jobs -- since Gannett's first big one, in August 2008, and every one has been awful for those getting kicked to the curb, and those left behind.

But this round, which began July 29, has been perhaps the cruelest of all -- in the East Group of dozens of newspapers from New York to Florida. Here's why.

It was well underway and prominently disclosed on Gannett Blog by the time Corporate finally confirmed it on Aug. 2 in a one-sentence statement to blogger Jim Romenesko and then the Associated Press.

Kane

By Aug. 6, it appeared most newspapers had notified employees losing their jobs -- except for those in the East Group, led by President Michael Kane based at New York's Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Indeed, employees at some of the group's papers were increasingly anxious, asking me in e-mail whether they might have been spared.

In a comment that day, Anonymous@1:14 p.m. wrote bitterly: "Jim, you are too casually dismissing the greatness that is Michael Kane. He is perfectly capable of being the only group president to avoid cuts by making bottomline goals."

Whack!
But the ax finally fell big time yesterday, with seven at least eight layoffs at the Rochester paper, followed by more at sites including Greenville, S.C., and Pensacola, Fla. On Wednesday, the Asheville Citizen-Times in North Carolina lost six terrific newsroom employees.

All that brought to more than 350 the number of layoffs and open positions cut across at least 57 of nearly 80 U.S. newspaper sites, according to Gannett Blog reader estimates. Combined, those sites had about 18,000 employees at the end of last year, according to GCI's latest published figures.

Yet, I suspect more are still on the way. On a spreadsheet I've been keeping, there are at least a half dozen sites that haven't been counted, mostly in the East Group's New York and New Jersey. Also, in Wilmington, Del., The News Journal appears to have cut only two jobs in this round, according to my readers.

Now, it's still possible Kane found a way to avoid eliminating jobs at those sites by cutting travel, newsprint or other expenses. But I doubt that.

Dickey

There's been no public explanation for why the East Group has taken so long after other employees were notified starting well over three weeks ago. Was there an 11th-hour attempt to find another way to save money? Did Kane's immediate superior, U.S. newspaper division chief Bob Dickey, hold up his plan for further review? We don't know.

What's certain is Corporate was planning for this round at least since July 5, according to a reader in a position to know. In all likelihood, work began even earlier. That makes the delay across the East Group all the more puzzling.

Unusually secretive
In those four earlier mass layoffs I've covered -- including one with well over 2,000 jobs in December 2008 -- employees were told days and sometimes weeks in advance. There was little doubt every site would be hit. No one was left agonizing over whether their site would be spared. It was just a question of how many jobs would be cut.

This time, Corporate has been especially chary with information, refusing to announce the layoffs in advance, even though it was clear word had already leaked. And when Corporate finally confirmed the truth, top executives refused to provide specifics, including the number of jobs. Contrast that with the last mass layoff in June 2011, where Dickey sent a memo announcing 700 jobs were being eliminated.

But most cruel: Dickey and Kane allowed thousands of his group's employees to watch what was rolling out across the rest of the newspaper division west of the Eastern Seaboard, prolonging their anxiety for weeks and weeks. If Dickey and Kane would like to explain the circumstances, we'd welcome hearing from them.

In the meantime, we're certainly hearing from those in the field.

PNJ's 'heart and soul'
At the Pensacola News Journal, Anonymous@12:48 this morning wrote eloquently of one particular employee's exit.

"Heart and soul Managing Editor Ginny Graybiel is sacked in so-called layoff," they wrote. "With 37 years at the PNJ, Graybiel's leadership bringing the powerbrokers and arrogant burghermeisters in this unbelievably corrupt town and county to heel has been legendary and an inspiration to a small but dedicated staff.

"A tireless editor who logged 80 hours a week shepherding a dismantled Gannett property to greatness week to week with ideas, great editing and lots of bloody verve, she's rewarded with a lame sacking."

Corporate reportedly is about to raise print newspaper subscription rates again nationwide in a bid to boost overall revenue when advertising revenue continues to fall. That it would take this step so soon after cutting deeper into the marrow of news production is a sign of desperation. It sure doesn't look like a winning strategic plan.

Is your site here?
An estimated 360 351 352 jobs have now been eliminated at 57 of about 80 newspapers since the current round of layoffs began July 29, according to the latest reports from Gannett Blog readers.

Please check this read-only spreadsheet, then post your site's current information in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green rail, upper right.