Boston Globe cuts newsroom staff by 24
Boston Globe editor Martin Baron sent the following note to the staff today concerning employee buyouts in the newsroom:
To the staff:
I’d like to update you on the buyout.
We have accepted buyout applications from 24 of our colleagues in the newsroom. A handful of buyout applications were approved over the last several weeks, and some people already have left the Globe. The vast majority are being notified of their acceptance today, and they will leave the newsroom on various dates over the next few months. The dates have been set so that the newsroom has time to adjust to their departures.
It is always difficult to say goodbye to co-workers and friends. Wonderful people who have dedicated themselves so fully to the success of the Globe will no longer be working with us side by side. I know that all of us wish them well.
Because the buyout was oversubscribed, we were able to avoid layoffs, which would have affected talented people recently recruited to the Globe. The applications of some staffers were not approved. They included certain individuals with special skills and those in difficult-to-fill positions that required immediate replacement. No applications from those who hold the formal titles of section editor, department head, or above were accepted.
In announcing the job reductions in January, I outlined a cut of 17 positions in the newsroom and two on the opinion pages. I also mentioned several other cost-cutting steps. Among them: We would freeze some open positions. We froze those positions out of concern that we might not be able to achieve the required staff reduction entirely through buyouts, and we wanted to do everything possible to avoid layoffs. However, there were enough buyout applications for us to achieve the entire staff reduction with buyouts. That will allow us to fill some positions that were previously frozen.
When these job reductions are completed, the Globe will continue the ambitious journalism that brings so many readers to our newspaper and website every day. The past year was one of real distinction, where your extraordinary abilities were on full display.
Thank you for your patience in recent weeks and especially for your ceaseless commitment to great journalism.
Marty
