Guild loses 16 to Baltimore Sun cuts

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Reacting to low response to its late-June buyout proposal of 100 job cuts by mid-August, the Baltimore Sun Media Group said Friday that 16 Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild members at The Sun — 11 in the newsroom and five in advertising — would be laid off.

The 11 editorial positions — four editorial assistants; four interns; and three reporters, two of whom had volunteered to be laid off — constitute the total newsroom layoffs.

Two inside and three classified advertising positions coselect allmprise Guild members laid off in advertising.

“This is a sad day,” reacted Tanika White, the union’s unit co-chairwoman at The Sun. “Even though only nine members are leaving involuntarily,” there are still 55 [newsroom] people who are leaving, and untold others in other departments. That means fewer people to do the kind of work that this community has come to expect from the Baltimore Sun.”

Those laid off have the option of either departing immediately or on August 15. The 44 newsroom staff who accepted the company’s buyout offer of one week of pay for every six months of service — with a minimum of six weeks and a maximum of 52 weeks pay — will leave by August 1.

White did not know how many non-union layoffs were in the mix, but previously estimated total buyout applications at only 10-20 above those from the 400-member union. If true, that would mean that between 30 and 40 non-Guild members also received pink slips Friday.

The downsizing, the third in just over a year at media group for a total of 190 positions, comes on the heels of revenue losses at Tribune Co. — owner of The Sun, the Baltimore Sun Media Group’s 21 weeklies and 10 other dailies — and the parent company’s $8.2 billion, going-private move in January.

“When Sam Zell [Tribune Co. chairman and CEO] took over, he said that you can’t cut your way to prosperity,” said Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild President Bill Salganik. “He was right then, and he is wrong now — six months later.”

Phone calls to The Sun’s spokeswomen Judy Berman were not returned.

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