The Denver Post plans to reduce the size of its newsroom staff by about 8 percent, the newspaper told employees Tuesday.
The Post has targeted a voluntary reduction of 25 positions out of around 300.
"As of today, there are no plans for layoffs," said Post editor Gregory L. Moore.
Unionized and management employees were informed of early-retirement and voluntary-separation packages, with payouts based on tenure at the paper. There is also an option to keep health-insurance coverage at current employee rates or take a lump-sum payment.
The Post declined to estimate cost savings.
The newspaper industry lost more than 2,000 jobs last year, according to Editor & Publisher, an industry publication. There were an estimated 54,134 newsroom jobs in 2004, according to the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
The Boston Globe, The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times have all announced job cuts in recent months.
"The failure of the economy to bounce back for newspapers now forces us to make some of the same choices," Moore said.
Most major newspapers are losing print readers to online sites and are restructuring to better compete with other media.
The severance packages that are offered either meet or exceed union requirements and won't be protested, said Tony Mulligan, administrative officer of the Denver Newspaper Guild.
"I don't believe that the newsroom is overstaffed. It concerns me to see job reductions. Everybody is already busy," Mulligan said.
John Temple, editor, publisher and president of the Rocky Mountain News, said, "Nothing like that is planned at the Rocky."
The Denver Post is owned by Denver-based MediaNews Group. The Rocky Mountain News is owned by Cincinnati-based E.W. Scripps Co. They share revenues under a joint operating agreement, and the owners split net income.
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-820-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com.
