No Brotherly Love for Philly Journos as Layoffs Loom

Image via WikipediaThe Philadelphia Media Network ("PMN"), owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News and philly.com will resort to layoffs if a voluntary buyout program available to employees through the end of the month doesn't yield three dozen fewer workers, Poynter.org reports.

Newspaper Guild leaders received the grim news yesterday that PMN needs to slash its workforce by 37 positions that may come from across-the-board and include reporters, cartoonists, photographers, editorial writers and copy editors, among other classifications. The number of staffers who opt for the buyout will dictate how many layoffs occur, according to Poynter.org.

The respective newsrooms of the Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com will merge when they relocate, which is scheduled for June. PMN is looking to unload the media properties via auction (see "TUOL" post 1/31/12).