Thursday, March 19, 2009
News AJC layoffs: The shoe is dropping
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Well, now we know the long-rumored payroll-trimming at the AJC aren't happening this week.
On Wednesday, AJC employees received a memo telling them to update their personal contact information – home phone, cell numbers, next of kin, etc. – by close of business Friday. The last time management made that request was just before last summer's buyouts, so that all staffers who weren't in the building that day could still be contacted in a timely fashion.
So, it now appears large-scale layoffs are a certainty. The questions that remain are, when, how and, most importantly, who?
There's some scattered speculation that the folks being let go will be contacted at home and told not to come in to work. That sounds pretty crummy, but, really, is there a nice, friendly way to sack someone? I've already heard that some employees are packing up any personal belongings they have at the desks, just to be on the safe side. Others are reacting by setting odds on their own departure.
I've discovered you can't bring up the subject of layoffs with an AJC reporter without getting into a 40-minute conversation. Frankly, I don't see how anyone over there can get any work done. (It reminds me somewhat of our own bankruptcy predicament and the long, anxious wait before the ax finally falls.)
As to exactly who stands to be cut loose, it's anybody's guess. I've heard certain old-timers say they're convinced they're going to be shown the door, but I have no basis for speculation. The only given I've heard is that the newspaper has already announced a plan to lay off part-timers.
Whatever happens, I think most folks are now guessing it'll come down early next week.
On the bright side, as one reporter said: "At least I know I've still got a job through Friday."
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
Comments (15)
Showing 1-15 of 15
I know you aren't smart, or a skilled writer, but at least try to make the FIRST SENTENCE grammatically correct.
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Thanks for the tip, Beanie. So fixed. And to think that, just yesterday, I was discussing with a colleague how the comment box seems to bring out people's inner douchebag.
Dang, Scott, what's with the name-calling? Is that how you react to all your readers? So they called you out on a mistake. Get out of that ivory tower.
A wise person once said, Never argue with idiots in public, because spectators can't tell the difference.
I'm with Scott on this one. Get lost, 'sprout, if all you can do is criticize in such a mean way. Have you thought that maybe Mr. Henry has a lot on his mind?
I am happy that I'm not the only person throwing douchebag at people here anymore. Thanks Scott.
The "inner douchebag" is kind of like vampires. Just as vampires do not have a reflection in the mirror (or at least I think I recall that correctly from childhood horror flicks), the "inner douchebag" is reflected in anonymous Internet posts. Our parent company was going to put comment boxes like this on our stories at one time, but many of us feared "inner douchebag" and thought it would only take away from the value of the content in the first place. So, we left the voice of the site visitors on our message boards, where there still is some "inner douchebaginess", but I guess that is just part of venting in the first place.
Wow, I must say the various news media do a good job of tracking any threat to the news media. Can't lay 30 people off a newspaper without an outcry. Go watchdogs, go!
@Montana, I understand your point. If we had the manpower, I'd love to cover layoffs at the city's law firms, financial institutions and manufacturers and other industries. Hopefully, trade media is covering those cuts — the Fulton County Daily Report's tracked the law firm layoffs. But we're talking about the Incredible Shrinking Newsroom at the city's largest daily paper at a time when citizen journalism hasn't caught up to covering the daily minutiae which provides context to big stories that impact the city. You can't expect the AJC to bluntly present what's happening to its employees and how those employees feel. Companies rarely do when they announce layoffs. But there needs to be some documentation of what's happening and what happened, not just the "AJC reduced operations by XX percent today" press release.
Montana L, your quote: "Go watchdogs, go!" Check out Sunday's AJC. Specifically, read "Road bill bends in direction of donors." That story took enterprise, digging and commitment to get to some core truths about who gets, and who does not. It is watchdog reporting of the highest caliber. And all you can bark is "Go, watchdogs, go!" Sounds like some marching orders you got from Rush. I am sick of people who delight in cheap-shotting the AJC. The newspaper has done a remarkable job of covering the news, day in and out, while waiting for a sword that is going to swing any day. "Go watchdogs, go!" You ass.
That story in the paper notes that they'll be axing managers. Now, the AJC has been losing money and readers faster than any paper in the country. And that is since 2002 when they installed their new, Julia Wallace-Bert Roughton-James Mallory leadership team. So far these knuckleheads survived all this, while rank-and-file reporters flee or are thrown out. And Cythia Tucker... would they please fire her.
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