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YAKIMA, Wash. The Yakima Herald-Republic announced a handful of job cuts Thursday, as well as other steps intended to reduce expenses.

Managers announced the layoffs to staff members in an internal memo and during meetings at the daily newspaper in central Washington. The job cuts amount to less than 3 percent of the newspaper's total staff of 196 people.

The Yakima Herald-Republic is owned by The Seattle Times Co. The newspaper has a daily circulation of 36,392, with a Sunday circulation of 37,684.

The changes come as the newspaper, like other newspapers, adjusts to major shifts in news consumption and advertising spending on the Internet.

"This is a tweaking to match our staffing with our revenue, to match our expenses with our revenue," Publisher Michael Shepard said. "Layoffs are never easy, but we're talking about a small percentage of our work force and other changes to keep us competitive."

Through the first 11 months of 2007, traditional advertising and circulation revenues combined were more than $400,000 below 2006 levels and more than $900,000 below budget. At the same time, total expenses were up more than 13 percent, the memo said.

The newspaper said it would close its bureau in Sunnyside, about 35 miles southeast of Yakima, and transfer news staff there to Yakima. Other steps planned include a smaller page size for the newspaper, the elimination of a special section that was distributed to subscribers in the lower Yakima Valley, and a format change for the newspaper's Spanish-language product, El Sol de Yakima.