'San Diego Union-Trib' Extends Buyouts

By: E&P Staff The San Diego Union-Tribune is extending voluntary buyout packages to 67 eligible employees who have 30 or more years of service.

In a memo sent to employees today, President and CEO Gene Bell wrote the cuts were necessary given the industry's challenging period. "Many other publishers have found it necessary to reduce expenses, and the Union-Tribune has already undertaken a number of steps to control costs," wrote Bell. "The time, unfortunately, has come for us to take more direct action to reduce our payroll."

The "voluntary retirement incentive program" does not include employees working in sales or those represented by a union.

The package includes 18 months of base pay and up to 12 months of paid medical, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents. There is a 45-day window that staffers have to consider the option.

"We value the many years of service each of these 67 employees have given to us and thank them for all they have contributed, and continue to contribute, to make this the successful company it is today," Bell wrote.

The buyout comes on the heels of yesterday's announcement that the paper's parent company The Copley Press put its Ohio and Illinois properties on the market. "The newspaper business has been very good to my family and me for over a century," David C. Copley, CEO of Copley, said in a statement about the sale. "The flagship remains San Diego and the moves we are announcing secure our ability to keep The San Diego Union-Tribune as an independent, locally owned newspaper for many years into the future."