• April 13, 2001

The New York Times Co., blaming a slowdown in advertising and an uncertain economic outlook, announced Thursday that it would make an unspecified number of staff cuts with buyouts and layoffs. The news came the same day Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, also announced layoffs of 202 people, or 2% of its staff. Dow Jones also eliminated 300 open positions.

The New York Times, however, declined to provide any details on the scope of the job reductions other than to say that they would occur across the company's business units. Catherine Mathis, a company spokeswoman, said that the company's online unit, which just laid off 17% of its staff in January, would be affected by the new cost-cutting program. She declined to provide other details on the job cuts, saying the staff members affected had not yet been notified.