gannett plans to layoff 3,000 by december.

Friend of mine from a small Gannett shop sent me this e-mail that went out today for buyouts.

 

This question was asked at my place.

The answer was no.

 

Begs the question, which would be worse - getting involuntarily bought out - or applying for the buyout and not getting it, and seeing a valued colleague shown the door who wanted to stay.

 

2.5 months of pay for 10 years of service is not being bought out, it's rape.

 

You're right. It's a "lovely parting gift" minus the Turtlewax.

 

My condolences to the good people who actually write the articles, edit the copy, take the photos, do the layout, etc., at Gannett. I loved the poster who said before long all Gannett will have left in the newsrooms are suits. Let's see them put out the paper. Oh, they'll try with community journalists at 8 bucks an hour. You wait. The reporters will be in and out like workers at fast food restaurants. Each paper will have one or two talented layout people who will have to work every day 8-10 hours a day for 70 hours a week.
Gannett ... the paper that brought us the "evaluation system" for raises. You know, where they grade you 1-5 on a variety of performance issues and the managers are ordered to give no grades higher than 2s and 3s.
What a horrible excuse for a company.
I like the idea of walking out before they show us the door. Gannett is a total joke except for the good people who actually put out the paper and deliver it.

 

We got a little taste of this on Election Night. There were like 14 management people running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Some were supposed to get people to make deadline. None did. Some were supposed to be basically supervising production, I guess, but did nothing. Some were supposed to be helping write the 1A heads, as if they could, of course, it was written by a copy editor. Basically they were all in there for the purpose of, I guess, just saying they were in there. Meanwhile, the shrinking staff was scrambling to do the same amount of work as four years ago with half the people.

 

Wow, thanks for the info magic in the night. I'd love to hear more takes on what magic wrote. This is what is happening folks. Can you believe all these management fucks even with all the cuts aren't doing any real work themselves? I mean actually helping put out the fucking paper? I would loved to have a tape of that night at your paper, magic. It had to be hilarious with all the management types running around trying to manage since their regular schedule of meetings during the day had been completed.
Nothing like having some suit who normally goes to bed at 10 p.m., hovering around while guarding the pizza slices.

 

Luckily for me, I had an early a.m. assignment on Wednesday, so I missed out on most of the deadline tomfoolery on election night.

A lot of us are just sweating the Dec. 3 termination date right now. It's sad, but there are quite a few of the people I've talked to say they're sorta secretly hoping they're one of the people who get laid off, because maybe then they'll be free from the mental torture and can somehow put their lives back together.

I don't think I'm there yet, but there are some days where I feel being laid off might be similar to getting paroled from prison.

 

I feel a tremor in the force.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003889465

 

So that's the date? Dec. 3, I thought it was Dec. 23 or something.

 

Dec. 3 is the date that has made some of the blogs, but some editors are being told it could happen the week of Thanksgiving.

Either way, it's not good.