More sad news on the state of the industry

Caught this on the KAKE.com site in Wichita. Didn't see it mentioned yet. Hope none of you are impacted:

NPG Newspapers, a publishing group based in St. Joseph, Mo., has directed employees at its Kansas and Missouri papers to take one-week furloughs in a cost-cutting move.

The unpaid week off, to be taken by mid-July, will affect all 390 employees in NPG's newspaper division. That includes the St. Joseph News-Press, Atchison (Kan.) Globe, Hiawatha (Kan.) World and newspapers in Warrensburg, Mo., and the Kansas City metro area.

General manager Lee Sawyer says NPG's revenue is down as the recession eats away at advertising revenue.

The firm says all wages would be frozen until economic conditions improve.

The newspaper division already has 60 fewer employees than it did last year. Many of the jobs have been eliminated through attrition.

 

I can vouch for this being correct.

 

I know of at least one person who is affected, and hell, not only did I interview at one of the papers, but was born and raised in the area.

 

Well, I know a lot of people affected, as I work in one of the shops.

Options were one-week furlough, or take a 5 percent pay decrease over the time period so that one paycheck doesn't come up way short. And wage freezes as well.

 

Sorry to hear that SH. Best of luck getting through it.