• by Erik Sass , July 1, 2009

Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper company, is planning yet another round of layoffs, according to several reports late Tuesday, with 1,000-2,000 positions likely to be affected. Most of these will be layoffs. This is merely the latest in a series of cutbacks at Gannett, which has been steadily trimming workers, salaries and work hours as it struggles to stabilize its finances during the recession.

The news of the cuts, first reported by Gannettblog.com (maintained by former Gannett employee Jim Hopkins) and confirmed by The Wall Street Journal, can't come as much of a surprise to employees of the beleaguered newspaper publisher.

Gannett's total newspaper publishing revenues fell 27% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to 2008 to $1.1 billion; it was the ninth straight quarter where Gannett saw total revenues (combining newspapers and TV) decline. Gannett's stock price has sunk in parallel with its revenues and workforce, from a high of around $87.00 in December 2003 to $3.57 on Tuesday afternoon.

Gannett was cutting positions even before the current economic downturn began. In 2000, the newspaper division employed 41,000 people; after the newest round of cuts, it will probably have 27,000-28,000 -- meaning that it has shrunk about one-third. However, the vast majority of these were cut in the last two years, including almost 5,000 in 2007 and 4,000 or more in 2008.

Having cut its workforce to the bone, this year Gannett began instituting unpaid furloughs as an emergency cost-control measure, including one week of unpaid leave in the first quarter followed by another week in the second quarter.

The fact that it has once again been forced to resort to layoffs from its already much-reduced workforce suggests that management is not optimistic about a turnaround in the near future.