Layoffs and buyouts at The Seattle Times

Unfortunately there will be a lot of this in coming weeks as newsrooms try to hit absurd budget targets by the end of the year.

The Seattle Times remains a great looking paper, but what also stands out is how few ads are in it ... especially Mon, Tu, Th, Fri and Sat. Again, that's true at a lot of metro dailies.

 

I would take 26 weeks and walk if offered that right now.

 

Understandable, because that's probably as good as any offer would get, but having been there, I'll tell you this: When they pay it out in one lump sum, the tax hit is huge. It's not nearly as big a cushion as you think it's going to be.

 

Not that it would do any good, but this late in the year, I would fight for that lump sum to be paid in 2017.

 

The other thing I underestimated: Many places take their time in the hiring process. I got an offer in late November for something I interviewed for in early September. Yes, six months severance goes away quickly. As it is, I'm going to have a four-week gap between the end of my severance and the start of my new paycheck.

 

When Tribune Publishing did its buyouts in late 2015, the top offer was 52 weeks of salary. I think you needed something like 30 years+ to get that, which I had .... and I never looked back.

 

Good point. Wasn't thinking of it that way.

 

They pay you when they want, not when you want.
My traumatic layoff was 20 years ago. When the HR lady was explaining it to me, I said, "So you not only took my job away, you screwed up my taxes, too." She was always cool to me. She nodded her head and scowled. "Yeah, sorry. That's the way it is."
At that time, there was a 40-day time frame to sign the papers. I was laid off in early November, while I was on vacation in Maui. They wanted it done before the end of the year.
After meeting with the HR lady, a few days later, she called me. "You were on vacation when the layoff was initiated, right?"
"Yes."
"The layoff was Nov. 9. When did you get home and get the paperwork?"
"Nov. 23."
"The only bit of good news I can have for you is this: If you wait the 40 days to sign the paperwork, that will push it into January and it might help you on your taxes. You are the only one in the layoff group that this applies to."
Rules might be different now. Delay it as long as you can.

 

178 in the newsroom?? Man, that number must be WAY old. I think it's under 120, and that may have been before last year's buyout. That article also vastly overstated circulation, like those are numbers from years ago.

 

I'm shocked if the staff is still that big.

 

Brutal.

Seattle Times to cut newsroom jobs