*The Los Angeles Times is cutting 115 jobs amid projections that the paper will lose another $30 million to $40 million this year.
More than 20% of the newsroom is being slashed, with young journalists of color hit the hardest, according to the Los Angeles Times Guild. Watch The Times’ report about the layoffs via the YouTube clip above.
“If these layoffs are allowed to go through, our caucuses will be decimated,” Brian Contreras, chair of the L.A. Times Guild Unit Council, told Journal-isms.
“The Latino Caucus will lose 38% of its members. The Black Caucus will lose 33% members. The AAPI [Asian American Pacific Islander] and MENASA [Middle East, North Africa, South Asia] caucuses will lose 34% of their combined membership,” Contreras continued, per Journal-isms.
“This is in large part because the company refused to offer newsroom-wide voluntary buyouts before launching these layoffs, which could’ve incentivized more senior staff members (who are disproportionately white) to step up and take the place of younger staff members (who are disproportionately POCs and more likely to get laid off). During our summer layoffs, buyouts went a long way toward reducing the racial impact of the cuts,” Contreras added.
A workforce reduction has never been so prominent in the company’s 142-year history.
“Today’s decision is painful for all, but it is imperative that we act urgently and take steps to build a sustainable and thriving paper for the next generation. We are committed to doing so,” the paper’s owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, said Tuesday.
As CBS Los Angeles reports, Soon-Shiong maintains that newspaper operations are stable.
“It is indeed difficult to reflect upon the recent tumultuous years, during which our business faced significant challenges, including losses that surpassed $100 million in operational and capital expenses,” Soon-Shiong said, per The Times. “Despite these difficulties, we made a deliberate decision to abstain from implementing layoffs within our newsroom during the COVID pandemic, maintaining the newsroom headcount throughout until the last several months despite the losses.”
READ MORE: Kevin Merida Announces Exit as Los Angeles Times Editor
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