Kansas City Star's bizarre approach to a staff reduction

I thought they were going to play The Hunger Games and the winner kept their job.

 

I know of a layoff situation where a newsroom employee was involved with helping pick co-workers who would be let go or stay. Co-workers did not know this person was involved with the process. The reward? A cushy management position.

Management has done shitty things to employees for years. We just find out about it more frequently today. Those managers will get theirs one day.

 

Just about anywhere that has had buyouts/layoffs in recent years.

I understand the strategy. You need to cut staff/payroll, so the first step is to see who is eager/willing to leave on their own. There is always an understanding that staff is going to get cut one way or the other. Management is just trying to find the least strenous way to get it done. If not enough people take the buyouts offered, then the axe starts swinging.

 

Every shop should ask for volunteers. Sometimes there's the person who was going to wait another year or two to retire, but hears about the buyout and takes it... Sometimes there's someone who has another job offer on the table and then they take the buyout and the new job... It's better for the paper than forcing them to cut someone who doesn't want to leave...

And you can bet they play the guilt card.

But this way is just wrong on so many different levels.

 

The Joker, actually.

 

Three or so years ago, another McClatchy paper had layoffs, and the two unlucky people were a longtime features writer/columnist and a young high school writer.

When their time came, the paper approached both writers, telling the older one that he could take a buyout if he wanted; if he didn't, the younger writer would be laid off. She younger writer spent a week or so wondering what her future held, before the older writer accepted the buyout.

So it's not just a KC thing; it's apparently a McClatchy thing. It's also despicable.

 

is it less despicable when done behind closed doors? Because that is basically what is happening.

 

As Michael_Badley pointed out, this is not unprecedented for McClatchy outfits. A well-known former poster around here lost his job that way.

 

I was thinking the "Amok Time" Star Trek episode. With the ridiculously awesome music.

Also, I third the notion that this is despicable.

 

This is the type of shit, where, some day, someone's going to go postal and kill a bunch of executives. And then everyone will be wondering "Why did this happen?" It's reasons like this.

It'd be perfect justice if both of them got jobs immediately and walked out.

 

Why not just handcuff them to radiators, give them handsaws, and tell them first one to murder the other one and get out of the newsroom gets to keep her job?