There may be more layoffs in other departments and at other papers. I'll update when and if I get more information.
*Update: The layoffs include photo editor Bernardo Alps and designer Mary Roy. An unfilled editorial position at the Pasadena Star-News was also eliminated.
**Update II: Here's the goodbye email from Bernardo Alps to his former colleagues (I deleted his contact information):
...wasn't planning it this way, but I am off in search of new adventures.
I want to thank all of you for the time we had together. You are a great group of people doing great work under difficult conditions. I enjoyed working with all of you and I learned from each of you. I hope you realize that I had to be a hardass to make things work smoothly. If I was hard on you sometimes, it in no way reflects how I feel about you personally.
Please stay in touch (and send any leads my way).
Now I'm off to make some lemonade...
Take care
Lay off, not firing, it is understood, of Bernardo Alps and designer Mary Roy.
ReplyDeleteSo, so sorry. I didn't know Mary, but Bernardo is an excellent photographer, and a truly nice, decent person who did his job, did it very well, and was always willing to help his co-workers.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to get into a war of words, but if you ever worked with him, you would not say the same thing.
ReplyDeleterefer to many previous posts...this is not the place to be working. who wouldn't have seen this coming? expect more of the same.
ReplyDelete@12:54 p.m. Layoffs = firing. Do you think any of these laid off people are going to be recalled in the future?
ReplyDelete1:10 -- I will bow to your experience. I worked with him, but not closely (meaning, I wasn't a photographer). As far as I was concerned, he seemed like a pretty nice guy.
ReplyDeleteEither way, it still sucks to get laid off/fired/let go/downsized/etc. And on that subject, I DO have personal knowledge.
Bernardo is awesome and SGVN is ridiculous to let him go. Hopefully he'll get a job with a company that is actually decent next time.
ReplyDelete"I am confident that today's action will be sufficient toward our effort to manage our expenses within our means."
ReplyDelete- Fred Hamilton, LANG CEO, on wage cuts Feb. 2, 2001
oops, 2011.
ReplyDeleteBernardo knows like three languages and is a very good photographer. He'll get something far better.
ReplyDeleteAs always, the dead weight that needs to go stays around while the productive workers are dumped like used rags.
ReplyDeleteHope the folks at the Register are reading this.
Who was the IT staffer?
ReplyDeleteOne can only hope it was Frasier.
What's up with all the OCR people here at SGVN? Oh no. Crap. We're efd.
ReplyDeleteAsk those who worked under photo editor how he treated them. I beg to differ on awesome photog. Maybe a good wildlife one but lacking in photojournalism skills. Ask anyone who worked with him for any length of time.
ReplyDeleteIf you get fired, you don't get to collec EDD benefits, if you get laid off, you do...HUGE difference.
ReplyDeleteIt really takes balls to anonymously attack someone who just got laid off. How bitter a person can anyone be.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck to Bernardo and all of us who could be next.
Best of luck, Bernardo. I enjoyed working with you during my time there.
ReplyDeleteI really wish people wouldn't be allowed to hide behind anonymous comments here, even at the risk of the rest of us being robbed of reading their "wisdom."
I beg to differ...it DOES NOT take balls so slam someone anonymously...in fact it's easy (and no, that wasn't me slamming that guy, in fact, I don't know him)
ReplyDeleteThere will always be those who like, dislike and are indifferent to people. Take it with a grain of salt. Having said that, I would like to say that it is the same excuse they give every time they cut, cut cut.
ReplyDeleteThe only solution to this problem is for everyone, every single person who works there to not come in to work, strike per say, until things are done maturely and with reason.
They will continue to bleed all of you until the last drop is squeezed simply because you allow it.
It is sad to see anyone go, and it just astounds the mind as to how and why they choose who they choose.
Make demands and stick to them. Call in sick all at once and you'll see how quickly these rats will jump at the thought of not putting out revenue even for one day.
I say strike!
ReplyDeleteBernardo was a great person and photog. Best of luck my friend.
ReplyDeleteyeah strike...what a dunce. as far as hamilton...what a twit and a complete no talent. take a look at revenue under his watch. EDD is better than that cess pool.
ReplyDeleteIs Klunder still around or did he leave again?
ReplyDeletestrike? you will lose your job you have no protection and you will be fired
ReplyDeletewe all know that the furloughs, not accruing vacation time, wage cuts and now lay offs are to tune up their financial statement so when they bid for Freedom they will have a better chance
I believe Mr Klunder is still the publisher at the Daily News. He is the only talent left in the organization.
ReplyDeletefollow the dollar sign - it most always leads to the answer
ReplyDeleteat LANG/MediaNews/Alden it's simply about greed
guess dean's not going to be dictator anymore, maybe king like englands queen no power or authority but holding on to the position- time will tell alden may be worse
I think I have gone past feeling bad for the people at LNG/MNG. They have had enough time to look/find somewhere else to work at since the first poop hit the fan in early 2008.
ReplyDeleteIt is a free country. No slaves toiling in the trenches by force. Free will here.
ReplyDeleteI thought I heard no more layoffs. You mean they were fooling us?
ReplyDeleteThey weren't fooling you. He was just wrong at being confident about "today's action."
ReplyDeleteJust heard that SGVT & PSN's advertising department was "downsized".
ReplyDeleteDownsized to what, a fax, a phone and a stooge?
ReplyDeletemaybe it is like the PE where they just layoff folks they don't like or don't have a family connection?
ReplyDeletePlayoffs! How in the hell can we get to the playoffs with this lousy record? Playoffs my ass!
ReplyDeleteI worked with Bernardo and even had run-ins with him. I will say he was a hard worker who cared about what he did and the company, which cares only about itself. He had to be hard because the idiots in charge were hard on him.
ReplyDelete