Milwaukee buyouts offered, layoffs pending

Most of the big papers I know of have been offering buyouts that are one week's pay per year worked there. I know of one that was twice that. Some are even offering bonuses and a year's worth of benefits...

Milwaukee is union and usually in those cases they'll force the most recent hires out... I hope that's not the case here...

 

Talked to a friend who works there. It's definitely not going to be the recent hires, mizzou. The only people eligible are those who have been there 10 years or more.

 

I dunno, doesn't strike me as being all that subtle, really.

If you wander over to the jobs board, you'll notice that St. Louis is advertising for an opening created by their recent buyouts. On the surface, that would appear to defeat the purpose.

 

Papers are buying out some employees that are on the verge of retirement... More than once these buyouts have had more takers than papers needed...

As far as Milwaukee is concerned, obviously they're only targeting the older employees with buyouts, but if they don't find any takers, the recent hires will be the first ones on the chopping block... I doubt it will get to that...

 

I guess they don't think the staff "works smarter" enough. :

 

If it did, though, that would be bad news for a recently hired Packers beat writer, then?

 

That would suck for Greg.

 

That's why we all better be careful about taking jobs at Guild papers these days. Given all the shrinkage, with more on the way, the last in almost always is the first out. Another reason for management to either sweeten buyouts of deadwood or bust union entirely.

 

Seems like Guild papers are the ones that aren't being all Pollyanna, though, and actually fighting for survival. Lots of other shops are just bending over and taking it up the behind.

 

It seems as if the bigger papers are wanting younger talent but then release people who have been at the paper longer than 10 years. Is that the way all buy-outs happen?

 

A lot of times they want to get rid of the dead weight. Not to stereotype, but some of the time those who fall into that category are the older employees. I know that's not always the case, but sometimes it is...

These days, I think it's more about cutbacks and if you can cut the dead weight that's what most papers want to do...

 

Just go to a market that's not in the midwest.