Pa. newspaper begins round of layoffs

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PHILADELPHIA (AFX) - The Philadelphia Inquirer on Tuesday began a round of long-expected layoffs amid a drop in circulation and ad revenue.

Several reporters at the Inquirer, Pennsylvania's largest newspaper, said they were told Tuesday morning that their jobs were being eliminated. The employees said they were told to meet with personnel officials on Wednesday to discuss details of their severance pay and health benefits.

The specific number of layoffs is still unclear because some Inquirer employees have already taken other jobs since word of the impending layoffs was announced in November. Neither company spokesman Jay Devine nor Inquirer editor Bill Marimow immediately returned calls seeking comment.

The Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News were long part of Knight Ridder Inc., which was sold in March to McClatchy Co. McClatchy sold the Philadelphia papers three months later in a deal worth $562 million to Philadelphia Media Holdings, an investment group led by Brian Tierney, a former advertising executive who is now the papers' chief executive and publisher.

In November, Tierney announced that declining ad revenues would require contract concessions and that layoffs in the 415-worker newsroom were unavoidable as the company aimed to save at least $20 million.

Circulation has been on a sharp decline, with weekday figures at the Inquirer down 7.6 percent to nearly 331,000 in the six months ended Sept. 30.

The Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia, which represents more than 900 editorial, advertising, circulation and clerical employees at the Inquirer and Daily News, ratified a new contract last month.

Union leaders and members were unhappy about some terms of the three-year contract, including changes in sick-day benefits, the role of seniority during layoffs, and pension contributions -- all concessions that came amid the looming layoffs.