99 laid off at Daytona Beach

DAYTONA BEACH -- Statement to Daytona Beach News-Journal employees
from Georgia M. Kaney

As you know, the company is being prepared for sale. These
preparations are occurring during a major downturn for the US
newspaper business, a downturn we are feeling in our market.

As part of the sales process, Cox Enterprises and News-Journal
Corporation hired a sales broker and a consultant to help us prepare
the company for sale. It is their recommendation that some major
changes need to be made now to make the company more attractive to a
potential buyer, as well as strengthen the financial condition of the
company in this economic downturn.

Today we will announce those changes to you. And starting today and
continuing through this week we will make the changes that we announce
this morning.

ORGANIZATION

We will make changes in the way The News-Journal is organized to
simplify the operation and reduce costs. These changes will also bring
our organization structure into alignment with the way most US
newspapers are set up.

Here are the major elements of the change:

1. The creation of a production director position, with production
department managers reporting to this new position. We have appointed
Robert Page to be production director, and Rex Smith will succeed him
as packaging and distribution manager.

2. We will move responsibility for the Business Report content to the
editorial department, and also move the Business Report content
employees from the advertising department to the newsroom.

3. We will eliminate the Community Relations department. Events
management will be consolidated in the advertising department.
Contributions management will be moved back to the front office, to be
handled by Connie Fagan. NIE will continue to report to the marketing
and promotion department, and we will convert NIE exclusively to the
use of the electronic edition.

4. We will consolidate Marketing Development and Strategic Marketing
into a new Marketing and Promotion department, headed by Lori Kopp.

5. To jump-start our on-line sales and to strategically package
classified sales with on-line, we will consolidate on-line and
classified advertising under current on-line manager Chris Maikisch.

6. We will make Creative Services a part of the Advertising
Department.

7. We will outsource several activities that we now perform in-house,
reducing headcount and overhead.

8. In conjunction with some publication changes you’ll hear about this
morning our bureaus in Flagler County, New Smyrna Beach and DeLand
will be closed.

PUBLICATION CHANGES

1. We will discontinue publication of the West Volusia Neighbors
sections and the New Smyrna Beach Daily Journal.

2. We will incorporate some localized content and zoned advertising
into the local sections of the West Volusia, Southeast Volusia and
Flagler editions of The News-Journal.

3. Publishing stock market results five days a week has been
discontinued, instead we will enhance the capabilities of our website
with additional stock market information and services.

HEADCOUNT REDUCTIONS

To reduce costs we will announce over several days this week a
reduction in force.

The total number of employees involved is 99.

The reduction in force will affect the editorial, advertising,
circulation, creative services, operations, purchasing, distribution
and community relations departments.

These will be involuntary terminations, and are only being done for
economic reasons. The people being let go will be notified this week
in meetings with their department head and an HR representative.

Each person to be let go will be offered a severance package. The
package will be:

· One week’s pay per year of service, with a maximum of 26 weeks’ pay,
and a minimum of 4 weeks’ pay.

· Continued health insurance coverage under the company plan through
the end of this year.

Another change put into effect, at the end of this week all rates of
pay will be frozen. There will be no further pay raises given for the
next 12 months, unless a new owner chooses to do otherwise.

These changes are unwelcome, but required. Unfortunately, this same
scenario is playing out at many newspapers these days. The best thing
we can do is stay focused on our jobs, and serving The News-Journal’s
readers and advertisers. Despite the unavoidable disruptions and
distractions this week, we still have jobs to do, and it is in
everybody’s best interest that we do them professionally and well.

Thank you for your cooperation and hard work.

Georgia M. Kaney Publisher

 

Damn. Damn. Damn.

 

That's a bitch of a note.

 

"The best thing
we can do is stay focused on our jobs, and serving The News-Journal’s
readers and advertisers. Despite the unavoidable disruptions and
distractions this week, we still have jobs to do, and it is in
everybody’s best interest that we do them professionally and well."

In other words, don't bitch about this or you're gone, too.

 

PS: I will not be losing my job, nor will I take a cut in pay.

Fuck you, you word I can never use around a woman I even remotely like.

 

Here's the bullshit alert...

"Publishing stock market results five days a week has been
discontinued, instead we will enhance the capabilities of our website
with additional stock market information and services."

Saying you're moving the stock market stuff from the paper to the web doesn't "enhance" anything. That word should be banned from any memo which predicates 99 firings.

 

Dear Employees,

Here's your Sword of Damocles. Good luck sleeping.

 

"Thank you for your cooperation"

 

Unless he's job hunting.