By: Joe Strupp The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tenn., is the latest newspaper to offer buyouts to employees in an effort to cut costs. President and Publisher Joe Pepe, who took over the paper just a week ago, began meeting with employees Thursday to put forth the option. It will be available to any employee who is 50 years of age or older and has 15 years of service.
"There are probably about 170 people that we will make the presentation to," Pepe said when asked how many of the paper's 800 workers are eligible. "We have no target, no number. I just want to offer it to see who'll take it. We believe that is the best way to approach it."
The buyout plan comes as papers from San Francisco to Baltimore have been instituting
similar programs in recent months.
Pepe said the proposal is available to employees in all departments of the E.W. Scripps-owned daily, including those represented by the Newspaper Guild. He would not speculate on how many might accept or if layoffs would be utilized following the buyout offer. He also did not disclose information on what those who took the buyout would receive. "I don't know if I want to release it before we give it to the employees," Pepe said.
The publisher said no specific incident or budgetary problem had sparked the buyout approach other than the financial difficulties all newspapers are facing. "We are just looking to improve our cost situation right now," he said. "Revenues are not exactly where we'd like them. This is to see if there is anyone who wants to voluntarily move on."
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