TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online
Tribune, WFLA Offer Buyouts To Employees
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Published: April 15, 2008
TAMPA - The Florida Communications Group said Monday it will offer voluntary buyouts to about half its 1,326 full-time employees, including some with The Tampa Tribune and News Channel 8.
The offer is aimed at reducing staffing in a difficult economy while the company reorganizes and consolidates its newspaper, broadcast, and digital operations, FCG President John Schueler said.
Schueler, who reports to Richmond-based parent Media General Inc., said there are no specific figures yet for cost savings or numbers of staff reductions that the company would like to achieve in the voluntary separation program. Some FCG employees, including employees of TBO.com, Tribune copy editors and photographers, are excluded from the buyout program.
"We have gone through involuntary separation programs in the past," Schueler said. "We said, 'Why can't we give at least a great portion of employees a choice?' We are looking at this reorganization structure so that is why we don't know numbers right now - that this will save us X amount of dollars or X amount of people."
Eligible employees have until April 25 to decide whether they want to accept the buyout. Those who do would leave the company by June 15.
Schueler said that if not enough workers opt for the buyout, company layoffs may be necessary.
Laid-off employees would get the same severance packages as those who choose the voluntary program that management announced to employees Monday morning. For example, some longtime employees may qualify for up to 39 weeks of pay in their severance packages.
Media General joins a growing list of media outlets, especially in the newspaper industry, cutting back on resources amid a softening advertising market, which has been especially difficult in Florida.
Colby Atwood, president of newspaper consultant Borrell Assoc., said, "This is part of the general period of adjustment that newspapers are having to go through, and I think it will be awhile before that period is over."
The American Society of Newspaper Editors said full-time professional news staffs in the nation fell by 2,400 positions last year, or 4.4 percent of the national news work force.
"There will be permanent structural changes in the media business," Atwood said. "Some papers will adapt better than others. It's going to be a painful shakeout."
The Tampa buyout announcement comes 10 days before Media General's April 24 shareholder meeting.
The company is locked in a sometimes rancorous proxy dispute with Harbinger Capital Partners, a hedge fund that has built up a 21.4 percent stake in Media General and is now asking shareholders to replace three board members with Harbinger nominees.
Harbinger has been critical of Media General, saying it has been slow to change its business strategy to meet difficult challenges, and that it needs new voices on the board.
Harbinger issued a statement Monday saying "the latest move will have no effect on the nomination of our alternate slate of directors."
Media General President and Chief Executive Officer Marshall N. Morton could not be reached for comment Monday. But Ray Kozakewicz, a spokesman for Media General, said, "This is completely unrelated to the current proxy fight."
In a letter to shareholders Monday, Morton characterized Harbinger's strategy as a "short-sighted, and we believe harmful so-called 'prescription' for Media General."
He also disclosed that Harbinger wants Media General to sell off its assets in Tampa, which include The Tribune, WFLA, and TBO.com. Morton said in a previous letter to employees that Tampa has "long been one of our crown-jewel assets."
Schueler said Monday that none of the Tampa operations is for sale and that the staffing reductions are "absolutely not" intended to make the Tampa properties more attractive for a sale.
"We have a purpose that transcends the business missions, to help people live their lives better in a democratic society," Schueler said. "We believe in the community, we fight for the community and we are the tenacious watchdogs of government. We will not give that up at any cost."
Media General has told Wall Street that it expects to post a 40 cent to 45 cent per share loss on continuing operations when it reports first quarter earnings this week. Shares closed Monday at $14.48, down 25 cents
In addition to the Tribune and News Channel 8, and TBO.com, FCG properties includes Centro Grupo de Comunicacion, Sunbelt Newspapers, Suncoast News, Hernando Today and Highlands Today.
Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at rmullins@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7919. Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at tjackovics@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7817.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( bert ) on April 15, 2008 at 12:38 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Cheap!! they will replace seasoned veterans with cheesy college kids as soon as this slowdown ends!
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