AJC announces cuts of 180
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution announced its long-awaited reorganization and staff cuts this morning. The workforce reduction: 8 percent of 2,300 full-time employees — which works out to 184.
More details to come soon — possibly interview with Julia Wallace. Here’s the official release:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Announces Changes
to Organizational Structure and Print Edition
Changes reduce costs and strengthen focus on AJC core mission
ATLANTA (July 16, 2008) – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), the Southeast’s largest newspaper company, today announced a series of product changes as well as an 8 percent reduction in its workforce of 2,300 full-time employees.
“These changes are difficult but necessary,” said AJC Publisher John Mellott. “They enable us to remain the local news and information leader, and they position us for future growth.”
Beginning in August, the newspaper will discontinue geographically targeted community sections. In addition to the daily Gwinnett News section, discontinued sections include NorthSide, CityLife and NorthWest. To accommodate community coverage, the daily Metro and Sports sections will expand. The AJC will continue to have a dedicated staff of reporters located in North Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett counties.
“Over time, the costs to produce the community sections have become prohibitive,” said Mellott. “Paper costs have risen 35% this year, and, since we drive 80,000 miles a day to deliver the AJC, fuel costs have also hit us hard.”
Other changes to the print edition include:
Moving Better Health features from a stand-alonesection into an expanded Wednesday Living section.
Merging content from Saturday’s Buyer’sEdge section into an expanded Sunday Living section.
Strengthening the Sunday Homefinder sectionand moving the HomeStyle décor and remodeling section from a limited-circulationrun on Thursday to full distribution on Sunday.
All product changes will happen in August.
The staff reductions, which will occur between August and October, will take place primarily in News and Advertising and will be accomplished through a combination of voluntary buyouts, involuntary layoffs and position eliminations. Despite these staffing changes, the AJC will remain the largest news organization in the Southeast.
The AJC has evolved beyond its roots as a print publishing company. ajc.com is the third most visited local newspaper Web site in the country. In 2007, ajc.com logged more than one billion page views. In June, AJC mobile traffic surpassed one million page views per month. In addition to being the local leader in print and digital, the AJC is also the number one direct mailer in the Atlanta market, thanks to its Clipper, REACH and Valpak products.
“Our transformation to a multi-media company is working,” said Mellott. “The AJC’s total audience is larger than ever. Every week, 2.2 million adults read the AJC in print or online. That’s an increase of nearly 7% since last year. The Sunday AJC reaches more metro Atlantans than any other single medium in our area.”
Print remains key to the company’s strategy. The AJC is currently implementing $30 million in new printing technologies that will yield a brighter, more attractive and more colorful newspaper. The AJC plans to launch an enhanced Sunday edition in early 2009.
“We are moving forward from a position of strength, “said Mellott. “We appreciate the support of our employees, readers, online users, advertisers and the community.”