McClatchy Cuts 10% of Workforce

For those who aren't familiar with McClatchy, they're a major newspaper publisher. Or perhaps one should clarify that by saying that they were once a major newspaper publisher.

They continue hemorrhaging money, so the company has decided to lay off 10% of the workforce to try and improve the balance sheet.

McClatchy (MNI:
McClatchy Newspapers, Inc. MNI 8.19, +0.04, +0.5%) said it will cut jobs through both voluntary and involuntary separations, as well as managed attrition, involving about 1,400 full-time positions.

"The effects of the current national economic downturn -- particularly in real estate, auto and employment advertising -- make it essential that we move faster now to realign our workforce and make our operations more efficient," said Gary Pruitt, McClatchy's chief executive, in a statement.

Pruitt added that he's "sorry" to have make such a "painful announcement."
In May, McClatchy's advertising revenue fell nearly 17% from the same month a year ago, the company reported Monday. Classified ad revenue plunged 27.4%, reflecting a 38% drop in real estate, a 39% fall-off in help-wanted, and a 15% decline in automotive.

It's a lame excuse to blame the economy for all of the paper's woes. The problems go well beyond the economy and directly to the heart of the industry in general. They have failed to take the Internet into account and people have found that they can get news from multiple sources at the same time that local papers aren't providing local news, which should be the bread and butter for those local papers.

Nelson Muntz has it just about right:


UPDATE:
I've adjusted the headline to reflect that the 10% reduction includes layoffs and attrition.