Feb. 27, 2008

The Company laid off 68 Guild members today from the advertising, circulation, customer service, finance, marketing and systems departments.

This amounts to almost 10 percent of the union’s membership. Company officials said that a very small number of managers would be laid off.

“If the revenue is not there, then we have to cut expenses,” Michael Lorenca, executive vice president of Human Resources, told Guild officers. He said he did not know how much savings would result from the layoffs.

The layoff is effective March 28. However, the Company has told members to leave today and plans to reassign their work to surviving staff.

The Guild will begin working with the company to establish which of the laid off have bumping rights into other positions.

Under our contract, employees may volunteer to be laid off. The Company has said it will consider such offers. Those wishing to volunteer should contact Guild Representative Bill Ross at 215-928-0118. DO NOT have independent discussions with the company.

Sadly, these layoffs come five weeks after Philadelphia Newspapers CEO Brian Tierney told unions that he would be meeting with them individually for ideas on how to save money. In response to that request, the Guild formed a committee which has been coming up with revenue-generating ideas. But the Company, contrary to its promise, has not sought our input.

With or without the phone call, the Guild plans to meet with the Company to share our ideas and is asking for members to forward their suggestions to voices@local-10.com.

Of concern to the Guild leadership is that these layoffs follow threats by the Company that cuts would come if the union persisted in defending five advertising members who were unjustly fired last year.

Guild President Henry J. Holcomb said the Company “has done nothing but create a climate of fear, and everybody knows that’s not conducive to growing business.”

The layoffs come 13 months after nearly 100 members were cut from the Inquirer newsroom and the advertising department. In this round, the hardest hit was the advertising department with 49 layoffs. Additionally, the Company laid off six from circulation, eight from finance, two from marketing and three from systems.

The Guild is calling on the Company to stop these self-destructive cuts and work with its employees toward a more profitable future.