THE ANGELS — The Los Angeles Times plans to lay off 94 newsroom employees — a quarter of its staff — starting Tuesday, a substantial number but smaller than feared, the head of the journalists’ union said.
The announcement comes after the LA Times Guild walked off the job last Friday to protest the impending layoffs, the first newsroom union work stoppage in the newspaper’s 143-year history.
Matt Pearce, president of the Media Guild of the West, which groups the Times union, called it a “dark day.” He said the layoffs represent a quarter of all Times Guild members.
“Many newsroom departments and groups will be severely impacted,” Pearce said in a statement Tuesday. “This total, although devastating, is nevertheless much lower than the number of layoffs that the Negotiating Committee expected last week.”
He said some of those selected for layoffs by management could be eligible for buyouts under the union contract.
Layoffs and acquisitions have hit a wide swath of the news industry over the past year. The Washington Post, NPR, CNN and Vox Media are among the many companies affected.
An estimated 2,681 news industry jobs have been lost through the end of November, according to employment firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. That was more than the entire years of 2022 and 2021.
The latest round of job cuts at the LA Times comes after more than 70 positions (about 13% of the newsroom) were eliminated last June.
Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a biotech billionaire, acquired the Times in 2018 and returned it to local ownership two decades after its sale to Tribune Co. The purchase raised hopes after years of cuts, circulation declines and leadership changes.
Earlier this month, executive editor Kevin Merida abruptly left after two and a half years on the job.
Pearce said the union’s bargaining committee would meet with Times management on Wednesday to begin discussions about layoffs as outlined in the contract.