WKSU News: Plain Dealer lays off office, advertising, tech staff; newsroom is next

Thursday, June 20, 2013 Plain Dealer lays off office, advertising, tech staff; newsroom is next Dozens of layoffs had been expected as the Cleveland paper cuts back to three days of home delivery a week Story by LYNDSEY SCHLEY

The Plain Dealer announced yesterday that it laid off an unspecified number of employees in various departments

Courtesy of Plain Dealer

The Plain Dealer announced yesterday it laid off an unspecified number of employees from departments such as advertising, marketing and information technology. The move comes after the paper announced it is cutting home delivery down to three days a week.

Plain Dealer Newspaper Guild President Harlan Spector says these and future cuts are due to poor planning by the paper’s owner.

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"We think the cuts are unnecessary and that there are far less damaging ways to deal with the challenges of the digital side," Spector says. "Whether we’re talking about the people ... laid off yesterday, whether we’re talking about the other cutbacks that are taking place, I think they’re devastating."

One-third of the Plain Dealer’s newsroom staff is expected to be laid off next month. The cuts are part of the Plain Dealer’s contract with reporters, editors, artists and designers reached last year. It restored a 2009 pay cut, and allowed for 58 newsroom layoffs this year. But it ut limited owner Advance Publication to just five layoffs next year. And some of those laid off are expected to be hired by Advance's online operation.