• by Sara Guaglione , May 23, 2017

A round of layoffs hit daily California newspaper The Sacramento Bee Monday.

The newspaper's executive editor Joyce Terhaar wrote in an email to staff obtained by Poynter that the company will offer “some buyouts,” while others are receiving “actual packages.”

Gary Wortel, president and publisher of The Sacramento Bee, told Publishers Daily there were “a small number of layoffs outside the newsroom,” in addition to layoffs in the editorial department. He would not comment further.

Earlier this month, The Sacramento Bee’s parent group McClatchy Co. reported a net loss of $95.6 million in the first quarter of 2017, due in part to the decline of print advertising.

Sacramento Bee reporter Ed Fletcher, the unit leader of the Pacific Media Workers, wrote to the Sacramento Business Journal that features coverage will be the most affected. “It’s not just a loss for the newsroom but for the whole community."

Around the same time, McClatchy-owned The Fresno Bee announced it was laying off eight newsroom employees.

In January, Kevin McClatchy, chairman of McClatchy's board, said the company's new president and CEO Craig I. Forman would focus on accelerating the company’s digital efforts.

He added the company will use technology as a “catalyst for growth."

In the same month, McClatchy Co. announced it was selling the buildings housing The Sacramento Bee and The State in Columbia, SC, to two different buyers for $51 million and  $17 million, respectively.

The company plans to lease the offices back to the newspapers, and use the proceeds to pay down its debt.

McClatchy operates media companies in 29 U.S. markets in 14 states. It is headquartered in Sacramento.