gannett plans to layoff 3,000 by december.

4,500 job cuts in community publishing? Holy crap.

 

Where did you see that.

 

It's posted on the Gannett blog.

 

I know we all like to rip on the Big G, but how inhumane are they now compared to the stuff going on at Tribune, McClatchey, Media General and some of the NY Times properties? Tribune is bankrupt, McClatchey is going that way, Media General it seems has monthly layoffs and at one NY Times paper down South, they're on round 10 of layoffs.

 

If this is true, that means in a year's time, they've cut nearly 8,000 positions in the publishing division alone. If this was GM or Wal-Mart, it'd be all over the news. But since it's newspapers largely being sliced and diced, it'll go largely unnoticed.

 

Very valid argument, except for one big thing. Gannett has continued to be a very profitable company with outrageous operating revenues.

 

Plus, Gannett started gutting shops long before the economy tanked. In a way, Gannett set the bar for other companies to follow.

 

I'm having trouble wrapping my head about 4,500, especially when I was starting to feel slightly less negative about the industry.

 

Feeling less negative? I guess that was foolish.

I'm just not sure how those shops can put out a paper or operate a website with those gashes. I guess if the Biz Editor also takes out the garbage, and photographers man the help desk...

 

Seems to me that quality of life issues are going to come into play here - if they already haven't - for Gannett employees.

More work to be done

40 hours to get it done in, with no overtime...and possibly having to work off the clock to complete the task(s)

No pay raises, even as the standard of living goes up

Pay cuts for those in the broadcast division, and probably for those in publishing (which affects your compensation for unemployment if you're there next year and Gannett does furloughs)

Furloughs

Shifts that can hamper or hurt your ability to have a life outside of work

Not to mention all sorts of issues that arise from working under managers and with coworkers who are arrogant, backstabbing, condescending, overdemanding, and any other negative term you can come up with. (I am NOT suggesting all managers and coworkers are like this, but a cursory reading of threads here and at Gannett Blog leads me to believe it exists)

We know this is a shitty economy. But at what point do the above issues come into play, and drive good, hardworking people to leave their Gannett job?

 

Hell, good luck leaving your Gannett job. Where you gonna go?

 

Almost everyone leaving our place is either going into PR or back to school