Gannett laying off 700 more workers amid ad slump

McLEAN, Va. (AP) – The nation’s largest newspaper publisher is
laying off another 700 employees to cope with an unrelenting
advertising slump.
Gannett, the owner of USA Today and more than 80 other daily
U.S. newspapers, hoped to complete the cuts Tuesday. The layoffs
are occurring at most Gannett newspapers but not at USA Today.
The payroll reductions represent 2 percent of Gannett’s 32,600
employees. The division targeted in the cutbacks employs 22,400
people at newspapers that include The Indianapolis Star and The
Arizona Republic.
The layoffs are Gannett Co.’s biggest in two years and are the
latest austerity measures triggered by a steep drop in newspaper
advertising that began in 2006.
Gannett’s annual revenue has fallen more than $2 billion, or
nearly 30 percent, since then.