MILWAUKEE — Employees at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel are bracing for another round of layoffs, just weeks after an initial cut in staff.
The owner of the newspaper, Gannett Co., saw a $110 million net loss in 2022, prompting executives to slash their workforce. A new round of layoffs will target 6 percent of staffers, the Poynter Institute reports, which is about 200 of 3,440 workers at Gannett.
Gannett communications chief Lark-Marie Anton told Poynter, “While we have taken several steps already, we must enter the new year in a stronger economic position, and the reality is that our News cost base is currently too high for the revenues it generates.”
The Milwaukee newsroom already suffered one buyout back in October, targeting a previous 6 percent of staffers, according to Milwaukee Newspaper Guild Local 51, a union representing newsroom employees. Five members of the newsroom agreed to take the voluntary buyout, leaving 81 employees left in the Journal Sentinel bargaining unit, according to Local 51.
Gannett and Journal Sentinel employees will learn of the new reductions on Dec. 1 and 2, according to the executive Anton.
Besides the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Gannett owns the following newspapers in Wisconsin: the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Wausau Daily Herald, Appleton Post-Crescent, Fond du Lac Reporter and Sheboygan Press.
The Journal Sentinel already sold its West Milwaukee printing plant and sold its historic downtown office, which just reopened as apartments.
TMJ4 TV used to be owned by the same company as the Journal Sentinel and WTMJ Radio. All three longtime Milwaukee news outlets are now owned by separate companies.
