One hundred and twenty Washington Post employees have accepted the buyouts the publication announced last month, interim CEO Patty Stonesifer told staffers in a memo Tuesday morning. Stonesifer contended that the Post needs 240 people to accept the “voluntary separation package” to “help restore The Post’s financial health.”
In a followup e-mail to staff, Post Executive Editor Sally Buzbee told staff that only 36 newsroom employees had accepted offers, about “30 percent of our goal across the News department of 119 acceptances of the voluntary buyout package.”
If not enough people accept the packages, Stonesifer wrote, “We have made the decision, if we fall short of this goal, to implement involuntary layoffs in those areas where we have already identified that positions do not need to be replaced, where work can be reassigned more efficiently or where we can otherwise achieve cost savings.” Layoffs, she cautioned, “would offer significantly less generous benefits than the voluntary package.”
When the Post announced the buyouts, its union blasted management: “Hard-working Post employees are going to lose their jobs because of a litany of poor business decisions at the top of our company,” it said. “We cannot comprehend how The Post, owned by one of the richest people in the world, has decided to foist the consequences of its incoherent business plan and irresponsibly rapid expansion onto the hardworking people who make this company run.”
Here’s the memo:
Dear Colleagues – As promised, I will continue to provide updates on the voluntary separation package and where we stand in the process. As of today, 120 employees have accepted the package. We now have just under two weeks before the December 11 deadline for non-union employees and two and a half weeks before the December 15 deadline for Guild-covered employees.
To ensure that we meet our goal of 240 acceptances in this one-time voluntary package, we will review the caps that would otherwise limit the number of individuals on specific teams who can participate. We will consider raising caps where we can minimize impact to our mission and product. This means that if you are eligible and interested in accepting the package, you should do so, even if you believe the caps may limit acceptances in your work area.
We want everyone to understand that we need 240 acceptances to help restore The Post’s financial health. We have made the decision, if we fall short of this goal, to implement involuntary layoffs in those areas where we have already identified that positions do not need to be replaced, where work can be reassigned more efficiently or where we can otherwise achieve cost savings. These layoffs would offer significantly less generous benefits than the voluntary package and will be consistent with prior layoff packages at The Post.
You can find more information on the VSP at HR’s voluntary separation package resources page on Guidepost.
I know this is a challenging time. Thank you for all you are doing.
Patty
Disclosure: Like many Post staffers, Washingtonian’s editorial staff is also represented by the Washington-Baltimore News Guild.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
