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On Thursday, Dec. 1, Gannett started terminating the positions of around 200 employees in an effort to cut its news division staff of around 3,440 by six percent, according to Poynter.
The layoffs come only four months after the company terminated hundreds of employees in August following a nearly $54 million quarterly loss.
Gannett employees affected by the latest layoffs include USA Today reporters as well as producers on the company's digital optimization team, who work on writing headlines, assembling newsletters, optimizing articles for search engines, designing social media graphics, and other internet-focused tasks that help readers find stories online, according to Poynter.
Several Gannett employees announced that they had been laid off on Twitter.
"Sad to say that after 10 years at @USATODAY, I’m among Gannett’s layoffs today. I’m really proud of the sports, Olympics and investigative work I’ve done in that decade. It’s hard to put into words how much I have grown as a reporter from all my experiences here," USA Today sports investigative reporter Rachel Axon said in a tweet on Thursday, Dec. 1.
"Joining the too-large group of people saying they are among Gannett's layoffs today," tweeted Cecelia Hanley, a member of USA Today's digital optimization team.
Gannett produces several news publications in the region, including:
New York
- The Journal News (covering Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland Counties)
- The Poughkeepsie Journal in Dutchess County
- The Middletown-Times Herald Record in Orange County
Connecticut
- Norwich Bulletin
On the same day as the Gannett layoffs, CNN also announced that it was conducting layoffs.
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