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CHICAGO (AFX) - Tribune Co., which owns daily newspapers in 10 U.S. cities, said it is eliminating 250 jobs at its circulation call centers and outsourcing the operation to the Philippines.
The cost-saving move was announced internally at Tribune papers at the end of last week.
Tribune spokesman Jeff Reiter confirmed Monday that calls about circulation and delivery will be shifted to Deerfield, Ill.-based APAC Customer Services Inc., which has operations in the Philippines. He said 120 full-time and 130 part-time jobs, or about 1 percent of Tribune's publishing operations, will be cut when the shift is made starting this fall and into 2007.
"It does two things," Reiter said. "We think it will improve our customer service for our newspaper readers, and secondly it will make our newspapers more cost-efficient."
Executives at Tribune newspapers said in disclosing the move to employees that the move will enable customer service to operate with extended hours, which should improve quality. The Los Angeles Times, Tribune's largest daily, has been outsourcing the service since 1998.
Tribune's other papers include the Chicago Tribune, Newsday, The (Baltimore) Sun and the Orlando Sentinel.
The action is part of the $200 million in planned cost-savings moves Tribune announced in May. The circulation service change, coupled with common systems for advertising and editorial will save about $40 million combined, Reiter said.
Tribune shares fell 13 cents to close at $31.36 on the New York Stock Exchange. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
