Postmedia will be laying off 11% of its editorial staff across all of its news properties as it further attempts to bring down costs.
The plan was announced during a call with employees Tuesday afternoon. More details about who will be impacted by the job cuts would be available within 24 hours, following conversations with editors.
Sources who attended the meeting told MiC that Gerry Nott, SVP of editorial at Postmedia, informed staff that every property in the Postmedia network would be impacted by “a restructuring, reorganization or a layoff.” The only areas of the business that would not be impacted are the 10 publications acquired from Brunswick News last year, as well as the Postmedia Editorial Services division, as they had recently been downsized.
In a question and answer period, Nott said he was not aware of any plans to shut down any publications. He added that the company could not afford to offer voluntary buy-outs, but would be offering “voluntary layoffs” that would come with 2.6 weeks worth of pay for every year of employment.
Postmedia employs roughly 650 editorial staff across 112 newspapers in Canada, as well as several national websites like Canoe and Driving.ca.
In Q1, Postmedia’s ad revenue dropped by 5.9%, while circulation revenue dropped 5.4%. – figures that grew to 13.3% and 11%, respectively, when excluding the acquisition of Brunswick News. The company’s net loss in the quarter was $15.9 million, up from $4.4 million year-over-year, which the company attributed to decreases in operating income. Operating expenses at Postmedia grew by 12.4% year-over-year in the quarter, largely due to costs related to the Brunswick News acquisition.
President and CEO Andrew MacLeod said at the time of the earnings release that the company was facing the same challenges as other media companies in an uncertain economic landscape. He said Postmedia would focus on growing “key revenue areas” this year, such as digital subscriptions, digital advertising and parcel services, the last of which was one of the few bright spots in its financial results.
MacLeod also said the company would be continuing with cost-management plans, which would include streamlining resources, outsourcing and real estate divesture.
Last week, Postmedia announced a dozen community newspapers in Alberta would be going online-only and that the Calgary Herald building had been sold after several years on the market. The company is also outsourcing more of its printing operations in the province. The company said there would be layoffs associated with those moves, as well. In the fall, Postmedia ended Monday print editions for nine of its city newspapers.
