Furloughs for Gannett, round two

Another round of furloughs is planned at the Gannett chain, including the Palm Springs Desert Sun. Most employees will have to take an additional week off - unpaid, of course. Higher-paid employees will have to take a larger hit, according to a memo from Gannett President and CEO Craig Dubow, with some taking a second week off or a temporary salary reduction. From the memo:

We are about to begin the second quarter without any real relief in sight from this unprecedented economic downturn and its challenge to our company. Despite all of your truly remarkable efforts to reverse the trend, our revenue numbers continue their downward slide and we have been faced with more difficult decisions.

One of those choices was between more layoffs or another round of furloughs. We chose, for most employees, a furlough program consisting of at least one week of unpaid leave to be taken in April, May or June.

The program will differ from the first quarter’s in a couple of important ways:

• The length of the furlough for employees will vary somewhat by division or location, depending on the division’s operating needs and results.
• Our higher salaried employees will be asked to make an additional sacrifice. This could be a second furlough week or a week’s furlough plus a temporary salary reduction equivalent to one week’s pay for the quarter, depending on the division and/or location.
• Some hourly employees will not be required to take a full week. Each division or location will have different requirements for employees in this category.

Read the rest of the memo here. Also, Gannett has instituted a wage freeze effective April 1 to March 31, 2010.