The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported an 8 percent reduction in its workforce, cutting 189 jobs, according to the Atlata Business Chronicle website. The staff cuts among its 2,300 full-timers will come between August and October and will include a combination of voluntary buyouts, involuntary layoffs and position eliminations, AJC said in a press release.
AJC spokesperson Jennifer Morrow said 85 jobs in the newsroom will be eliminated, while the ad department will lose 104 jobs. The moves will cost 150 people their jobs, while the remaining cuts are positions that are not filled and that will now be eliminated.
"These changes are difficult but necessary," said AJC Publisher John Mellott. "They enable us to remain the local news and information leader, and they position us for future growth."
"Over time, the costs to produce the community sections have become prohibitive," said Mellott. "Paper costs have risen 35 percent this year, and, since we drive 80,000 miles a day to deliver the AJC, fuel costs have also hit us hard."
The job cuts and newspaper changes are the latest wave of bad news for the AJC, which has seen its circulation drop 8.5 percent to 326,907 for a six-month period ending March 31, the most recent data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
