Tribune Publishing on Thursday announced pay cuts of up to 10% for nonunion employees making $67,000 per year or more.
The pay cuts, effective April 19 across the Chicago-based newspaper chain, are aimed at reducing costs as print ad revenue drops while businesses are closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In the wake of these revenue declines, we must take drastic actions to better position ourselves for the future,” CEO Terry Jimenez said in a memo to employees.
The move will permanently reduce the base pay of nonunion employees between 2% and 10%, with those earning more taking a steeper cut. Employees will have until April 17 to accept the pay cut or apply to leave the company and receive a severance package.
The last day for Tribune Publishing employees who choose to exit the company will be April 24.
Tribune Publishing also will pursue cost savings within its unionized workforce across the newspaper chain, Jimenez said in the memo.
Top company executives also will take a pay cut, with Jimenez forgoing two weeks of salary in addition to a 10% cut in base pay, representing a 13.8% reduction. Jimenez has an annual base salary of $575,000, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing made in February when he was appointed CEO.
Tribune Publishing board members will see a 13.8% reduction in their fees.
CEOs at other major companies have taken similar pay reductions in recent weeks. McDonald’s President and CEO Chris Kempczinski, for example, is cutting his pay by half as sales plunge due to COVID-19, the fast-food giant said in a regulatory filing Wednesday.
Media companies have been especially hard-hit by the economic disruption caused by the pandemic. Last week, Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper chain, announced furloughs and pay cuts across the chain in the wake of coronavirus-related advertising declines.
Major radio chains including Cumulus Media, iHeartMedia and Entercom have implemented similar furloughs and pay cuts.
In addition to the Chicago Tribune, Tribune Publishing owns the Baltimore Sun; Hartford Courant; Orlando Sentinel; South Florida Sun Sentinel; New York Daily News; the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Maryland; The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania; the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia; and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia.
Tribune Publishing had about 4,100 full-time employees at the end of 2019, according to the company.
