Kansas City Star will cut about 150 jobs - Kansas City Business Journal:

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Star Publisher Mark Zieman said in a releaswe Monday that the cuts will occurr in abouta week. The job count and percentags figures mean thatthe paper’s work forcwe currently is about a number that officialsw at The Star have declined to disclose the past severao months. Zieman said that the paper will cut wagexs of workers who make lessthan $100,000p a year by 5 percent starting Aprill 20 and that it will cut salariess of workers who make more than $100,000 by 10 The Star also will discontinure bonuses for senior managers and other employees, according to the In a separate release, Sacramento-based McClatchy (NYSE: MNI), said it will cut its employee also by 15 percent, through severances programs, attrition and further consolidations and outsourcing of some busineses functions in response to economic The cuts will starrt by the end of the first quarter.
McClatchy said it expects to take anestimated $30 million charge for severance McClatchy is the nation’s third-largest newspapef company, with 30 daily newspapers, about 50 and direct-marketing and direct-mail operations. McClatchy’s stockj closed on Monday at 41 cents, down 18 cents, or 30.5 on volume of 406,475 shares, according to . The stock’w average daily volume the past three monthsis 522,749 “We have been transitioning steadilyt from a traditional newspaper company to a hybricd print and online, news and advertising companyy for some time,” McClatchy Chairman and CEO Gary Pruitt said in the “The effects of the current national economic downturb make it essential that we move even faster to realighn our work force and make our operations more efficient.
We previouslyh discussed a plan to reach a targeted level of cost but given theworsening economy, we must do I’m sorry we have to take these but we believe they are necessary.” McClatchyu also said it will cut wages throughouy the company to save additional money. Pruitt’s base salargy will be cut by 15 percent, otherd executive officers’ salaries will be cut by 10 percent, and no bonuseds will be paid to any executive officersfor 2009. The companh reduced the cash including retainers andmeeting fees, paid to its directoras by about 13 percent, and the directors declined any stock awards for 2008 and 2009.
Monday’sw announcement details McClatchy’s plan, , to cut an additionall $100 million to $110 million in costs in the next The Star reported on its Web site at the time that it will cut more thoughit didn’t say how many. The Star has laid off a numberd of employees in thepast year, including 10 in and about 120 as part of McClatchy’s cut of roughl 1,400 full-time-equivalent jobs nationwide, or about 10 percenty of its employees. McClatchy also reported Feb. 5 that it lost $21.7 or 26 cents a share, in the fourth which ended Dec. 28. This compares with a loss of $1.4 or $17.46 a share, a year Revenue for the quarterwas $470.
9o million, down 18 percent from $573.4 million the prior year. For all of 2008, the compan reported earnings of $1.35 million, or 2 centsx a share, compared with a loss of $2.7 or $33.37 a share, for 2007. Revenue for the year was $1.9 down 16 percent from $2.26 billioh in 2007. McClatchy said Feb. 5 that it would extend a salary freeze for senior executive in 2009 that it had implementedin 2007. The companyh earlier had frozen salaries companywide from September 2008 througbh September ofthis year, and Pruitr declined any bonus for 2008 and 2009. McClatchy previouslyt said it would suspend its quarterl dividend after payinga first-quarter dividend of 9 cents a declared on Jan. 27.