Chronicle plans deep cuts, talks about folding

Hearst Corp. announced today that it will make "significant" staff cuts at the San Francisco Chronicle and outsource the newspaper's print operations after losing $50 million in the last year alone.

If the changes don't result in big savings, the company said, it might be forced to put the paper up for sale.

From the Chronicle:

In a posted statement, Hearst said if the savings cannot be accomplished "quickly" the company will seek a buyer, and if none comes forward, it will close the Chronicle.

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"Given the losses the Chronicle continues to sustain, the time to implement these changes cannot be long. These changes are designed to give the Chronicle the best possible chance to survive this economic downturn and continue to serve the people of the Bay Area with distinction, as it has since 1865," Bennack and Swartz said in their statement.

"Survival is the outcome we all want to achieve," they added. "But without specific changes we are seeking across the entire Chronicle organization, we will have no choice but to quickly seek a buyer for the Chronicle, and, should a buyer not be found, to shut down the newspaper."

Hearst put the Seattle Post-Intelligencer up for sale in early January, with the threat that it might shutter the paper if no buyer came forward. The fate of the P-I is not yet known.