Ledger to Lay Off 36 Employees

LAKELAND | The Ledger will lay off 36 employees in response to ongoing revenue declines and a deteriorating Florida economy, Publisher Jerome Ferson announced Thursday.

The positions that were eliminated affect virtually every department of The Ledger, Ferson said, with 11 jobs being cut from the newsroom. It marks the second round of layoffs in less than two months and the fourth within the past year.

“It is with deep regret that we find ourselves in circumstances that require us to reduce the workforce. It’s never an easy decision to come to,” Ferson said. “This is a very dynamic time we are in. I would characterize it as a struggle of epic proportions, but we have a base of talented employees that are capable of rising to the challenge.”

In addition to the layoffs, some open positions will remain unfilled, Ferson said.

With the latest cuts effective Sept. 21 ,The Ledger will have a total 284 employees, nearly a third off its high of 415 in 1999. The newsroom will have 62 employees compared to a high of 99 that same year. The Ledger and other newspapers across Florida and the U.S. have struggled as readers continue to migrate from print to the Web, industry officials say.

Those problems have been exacerbated by an economic downturn affecting advertisers. Florida has been particularly hard hit by fallout from the housing collapse.

The St. Petersburg Times, The Tampa Tribune and Orlando Sentinel have all announced layoffs in recent months. Earlier this week, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune announced cost-saving measures that will result in 33 employees losing their jobs, as well as cutting two of six editions in the paper’s coverage areas.

The Ledger cut 14 jobs in September, then announced layoffs of 18 employees in November and four employees in June. The paper also has cut costs by merging sports and business sections and plans to do the same with local news and features sections.

Both The Ledger and Herald-Tribune are part of The New York Times Regional Media Group. In late June, the parent New York Times Co. announced a second quarter decline of 5.5 percent in income from continuing operations, as total revenues slipped 6 percent. The company’s newspaper advertising revenue fell nearly 12 percent.

New York Times Co. stock closed Thursday at $12.99 per share, near its 52-week low of $12.08. In January 2004, the stock was trading at $48.