In a bluntly-worded four-page memo sent to all employees on Wednesday, Pacific Newspaper Group president and publisher Gordon Fisher said the two competing newspapers have seen an “alarming and unprecedented revenue declines,” and layoffs will likely follow a voluntary buyout program that will be launched soon.
Fisher told J-Source he does not have a specific target for the number of employees or the amount of cost savings the company hoped to achieve through the buyout. He added that he has been in conversation with the union, and said the existing contracts make the two Vancouver-based newspapers costlier to produce than others.
"Look, we have to find significant savings and I'm anticipating we will have to resort to layoffs," he said. "We're looking at the legacy part, so definitely managers will also be considered for these buyouts, and I'm hoping we can find a way to keep some of the younger journalists ... I'm not really keen on the idea that just because you're last one in, I don't want it to be like you're first out."Fisher says the Pacific Newspaper Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Postmedia Network, cannot afford to live in a nostalgic past. Print revenue fell 16 per cent in March, and online advertising revenue has not been able to make up the shortfall. “These are not easy decisions,” he said, but for now, says there is no plan to eliminate one of the two newspapers. "There will be more integration. Already there is more of that."
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