• by Melynda Fuller , August 22, 2018

In a memo to staff yesterday, McClatchy President-CEO Craig Forman announced the company would be laying off 3.5% of its staff in an effort to cut costs. The layoffs will affect almost 140 employees company-wide, according to The Wrap. 

McClatchy is taking other measures to cut costs, including requiring seniors leaders to take two weeks of unpaid leave, according to CNN.com. The company is also on a hiring freeze.

Forman wrote, “While these actions are necessary to protect and further our future, they are painful and difficult decisions. Talented and passionate people who have dedicated their energy to our mission, colleagues we call friends and rely on everyday, will leave the company.”

Though Forman’s memo admitted the company is in better shape than its peers, just last month  McClatchy published heavy losses in its second quarter earnings report resulting in a net loss of $20.4 million on revenues of $204 million, or a total loss of 9.2%. Audience revenue was down by 5.7%. 

Despite this bad news, the company reported solid gains across digital-only revenue, with in an increase of 21.8%. 

Addressing these factors, Forman wrote of the layoffs: “This is not an unusual path in an ambitious transformation — the road is often filled with ups and down, and it’s seldom a straight line up. While our digital revenue continues to grow, we still face significant print advertising revenue declines.”

Forman also cited the recently introduced print tariffs as a factor in the company’s need to downsize and restructure. He also stressed the company's dedication to restructuring itself as a “digital-DNA, journalism-driven media business” for the future. 

McClatchy is the publisher of a more than two dozen newspapers across the country, including The Miami Herald, The Kansas City Star and The Charlotte Observer.