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SANTA ANA, Calif. (AFX) - The owner of The Orange County Register is offering voluntary severance packages to more than one-third of its workers to cut costs in response to declining advertising revenue.
About 600 employees in several departments are eligible for the buyouts being offered for two weeks beginning Monday, said N. Christian Anderson III, chief executive and president of Freedom Orange County Information, which publishes the Register.
The company employs a total of 1,743 people, both full and part time. It did not break out the number of people who work at the Register. But spokesman Eric Morgan said the majority are employees of the paper.
The buyouts include enhanced severance packages and a payment to offset health care costs.
No layoffs have been announced, but that could be a possibility if too few employees take advantage of the severance packages, Anderson said
Employees in circulation, finance, marketing, editorial and some other operations are eligible for the packages. The offer does not apply to ad salespeople and workers in the press room.
Anderson declined to give a breakdown of eligible workers by department.
In a statement, Anderson said the Register suffered declines in department store and classified advertising revenue in recent months. While the paper has seen growth in some other revenue, it has not been enough to overcome shortfalls, he said.
"Unfortunately, we don't see a turnaround in the loss of this advertising in key categories," Anderson said.
The company said it plans to offer new interactive products and revamped publications as part of a long-term growth strategy.
In August, the company launched the OC Post, a tabloid aimed at readers who don't have the time to read traditional newspapers.
Irvine, Calif.-based Freedom Communications Inc. is the holding company that owns Freedom Orange County Information, which publishes The Orange County Register, OC POST and other publications. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
