SEATTLE — The Seattle Times Co. will lay off up to 200 employees, including about 45 newsroom positions, to cut costs in the face of declining revenue.
As a result of the cuts, the Times will eliminate its suburban bureaus, according to an e-mail sent out by Times Vice President Alayne Fardella. In 2002, the company reopened a Snohomish County bureau in Lynnwood that has produced a weekly news section.
The Times, which employed more than 1,800 people before the cuts announced Monday, is trying to cut more than $15 million from its budget. Times spokeswoman Jill Mackie said about one-third of the job reductions announced Monday will be made by not filling existing vacancies, and about two-thirds by layoff, minus the number of workers who take voluntary separations.
She added the cuts will take effect quickly.
“We expect to achieve the savings within the next two months,” Mackie said.
Newspapers across the nation, both large and small, have struggled increasingly with a shift of advertising revenue that’s migrating from print to electronic media. Some of the nation’s largest papers have slashed staff in the past year.
“Clearly, what’s going on here is reflective of what’s happening nationally,” Mackie said.
In Monday’s announcement, the company said its classified ad revenue has especially declined steeply. Additionally, growth of online advertising — seen as a future bright spot for newspapers — has slowed, according to the newspaper.
The Times also has blamed some of its troubles on its longtime joint operating agreement with the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which splits revenue between the two publications.
The Times recently put its three daily papers in Maine up for sale, saying it needed cash to help keep its flagship paper afloat.
The Times’ cuts announced Monday are in addition to $21 million in reductions made earlier this year. In January, the company said it would lay off 17 employees, eliminate 69 positions through attrition, and eliminate or combine some newspaper sections.
Associated Press contributed to this story.
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