Cincinnati newspaper seeks buyout volunteers

CINCINNATI—The Cincinnati Enquirer is asking for 50 volunteers companywide to take buyouts, part of nationwide cost cutting by the Gannett Co.

Gannett, The Enquirer's parent company, said Thursday it is eliminating 1,000 jobs, including 600 layoffs, across its newspaper operations.

The Enquirer employs some 1,000 people in divisions including news, advertising, circulation, finance, production and marketing.

Publisher Margaret Buchanan said layoffs could follow the buyouts if economic conditions worsened or not enough volunteers were found.

The cost-cutting drive at the nation's largest newspaper publisher is the latest effort by the industry to deal with declining revenues due to an economic downturn and the move of advertising dollars online.