Monday 28 November 2011

Layoff forum

Comments re Nov. 28, 2011 Sun Media layoffs:

49 comments:

  1. Five whacked in Winnipeg, including two non-union editorial staff:

    http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Winnipeg-Sun-lays-off-five-employees-134616643.html

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    1. I know a very experienced 32 year vetran BUMPED by a 7 year from another departmentwith no experience .how is that justified

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    2. The person with seven years of experience likely made less money than the person with 32 years of experience.
      That's all the justification the bean counters at Sun Media need for whacking someone.
      Loyalty and seniority don't matter to these people.

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    3. that's because the 7 year guy had more seniority in the union than the experienced 32 year guy. That's how unions work

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  2. Any layoffs in Niagara?

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  3. FYI
    http://www.globaltvbc.com/money/quebecor+cutting+400+sun+media+jobs+through+layoffs+buyouts+attrition+union/6442530886/story.html

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  4. We haven't heard anything at our Ontario daily, but if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's usually a duck.
    Our newsroom, like most, is hardly in a position where we could let people go. It's just so sad.

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  5. Toronto Sun's imaging department gone in late January. It is being outsourced to India.

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  6. Any word on who was let go in Calgary?

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  7. Sounds like Lisa Wilton was let go from Calgary

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  8. Launch a 24-hour news outlet and of course you layoff reporters!

    And Quebecor won't comment? Probably couldn't find a reporter left around to write a press release.

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  9. Long-time columnist Mindy Jacobs was let go in Edmonton.

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  10. Who needs a reporter to write a press release - or a news story? Quality has certainly disintegrated, at least in Niagara. RE 8:44 p.m., you are wrong: There are always ways to eliminate payroll and make those left behind pick up the slack. Papa must need a new sports franchise or something.

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  11. If it were you, would you really want your name posted on here before you'd had a chance to tell all your family & friends? The numbers are news, but as for the names...how about a little time & space for these people?

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  12. Any one laid off at the London Free press?

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  13. We were supposed to move into our new Peterborough office this week but construction was stalled. Now we know reason. Why build workstations and run wiring for people who will soon be shown the door?

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  14. Who was laid off in Winnipeg?

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  15. How about getting ride of some of the old, out of date, high paid management rather than low paid content producers. I guess that would make sense, so it's completely out of the question for Sun Media.

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  16. You can't beat the Peterborough Examiner for letting us know who died the day before.

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  17. Re 7:16 a.m.
    Mark Beers, union chair for the London Free Press, says 12 people took the voluntary buyout and five people were laid off plus one person who was kept but got reduced hours.

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  18. Mindelle Jacobs, a long time Edmonton Sun columnist is the biggest name connected to the layoffs in Edmonton. She will be missed

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  19. Re. 10:03 a.m.....For the record, the Peterborough Examiner construction has not been stalled...
    It would seem that Sun Media competitors love to post anonymous comments in order to stir things up.

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  20. One long time ad rep in Welland was let go on Tuesday morning. That makes three ad reps to be let go at the Tribune in the last month or so. One was 'early retirement', but we all know what that means.
    Editorial department hasn't been touched there, or at the Standard or Review. No word on whether anyone else in the Niagara chain was let go

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  21. None of the local papers are really local when they are stuffed with at least 4 pages of generic Sun crap...every day! It's a sinking ship.

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  22. Jim Cressman, longtime sports reporter, and veteran photographer Sue Reeve, are among those at the London Free Press who have taken buyouts.

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  23. Three days later, any official buyout and layoff numbers at each paper across the Sun Media chain?

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  24. The most infuriating thing is whenever this happens you always hear companyspeak that it makes the Sun a "stronger company". The first time I experienced a layoff I was a newbie reporter and I actually called out senior management for saying that during "the staff meeting". I probably killed my career at the Sun then and there but I got a few back-slaps afterwards. By the way is anyone else having trouble accessing the "Layoff Forum"? I had to come here through Google, not the main TSF page where the link isn't working.

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  25. I suppose the closing of the graphics and production departments was inevitable considering mediocre is all it takes to satisfy the lucky folks who get to make the decisions about who goes and who stays. It's the ''cherry picking laced with politics'' however that really hurts. No one is watching the hen house at the over paid senior management level. And this has been going on for a very long time. I know, it happened to me two years ago.

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  26. 9:05 a.m.: TSF layoff forum links working fine here.

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  27. 9:13 - senior management will have their day eventually too --- it is inevitable that this company will eventually figure out that it is cheaper to have one ME in charge of 10 papers as opposed to just a few now, and one group publisher can be in charge of 11 newspapers not just a couple

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  28. @TSF : The headline links don't work for me either (using Mac/Safari). Started with the Tuesday Nov 22 post.

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  29. That is puzzling. Does the TSF blog archive link for "layoff forum" to the left work for you?

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  30. @6:41: Not just senior managers, but mid-level ones. In many of the smaller and medium-sized papers, the number of managers exceeds the number of employees, not least because salaried workers were laid off but managers were not. I don't really get that business model of maintaining higher-paid managers who don't actually work while laying off lower-paid people who write stories and take pictures and stuff. I also note that their perks have not been cut either. We don't have a newsroom cell phone, but every manager has a Blackberry.

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  31. Only the link on the side worked. Can't help but wonder if all the investing in new ventures in recent years will be what ends up costing many more newspaper employees their jobs. From the numbers that were out about the revenue made by 'news,' the drop didn't appear that drastic. Is the new TV station/website/video emphasis more lucrative than traditional newspapers?

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  32. At the paper I worked, every senior manager had a company car....even the publishers assistant. The concert tickets that once were used to perk hard working employees stopped being available to middle management to use as incentive, they all went to senior and their friends and family. Most of middle management (and I was one of them) worked hard. We were the buffer and definitely were not in the club. Without union protection...and pushed around. Even walked in on my director playing on Facebook. So, you see....

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  33. Ha, TV station lucrative? I'm sure its 6,000 viewers enjoy it. Try selling those numbers to advertisers. Not going to work.

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  34. 7:09 in our group, the group GM still has a personal 'club'. If you are one of the managers in the group but not one of those 'pets' lucky to be in that inner circle, you are kept out of the loop on almost e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g

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  35. Kathy Rumleski,it is reported by her on her blog, that she took a buy out from the London Free press after 17 years.

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  36. National Photo Editor A.P. Hovasse and two national Biz reporters axed this week. A.P. was only there 18 months or so.

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  37. The Toronto Sun is losing veteran crime reporter Rob Lamberti and photo vet Mark O'Neill to buyouts. Could be more.

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  38. Dump veteran writers that readers enjoyed and followed and were willing to go buy a paper to read their content.

    Makes perfect sense to boost readership.

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  39. I'm certain the circulation people who provide me with my Sun every day must have been let go.

    How else to comprehend why, after months of not getting a daily paper, and not asking to re-subscribe, I'm getting a paper now? As far as I know, I'm not paying for it.

    And if they keep getting rid of high quality folks like Lamberti, why they hell would I continue to read it?

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  40. Attn: mods - I was the poster at 9:05 AM on 1 December reporting I couldn't access this forum. Now I can, but it's Forum 2's link that isn't working. Weird. I'm using Firefox 8 if that means anything.

    Back on topic, I was just perusing the letter to the editor links for Toronto Sun and I was rather disgusted to see one of those pithy letter replies that I thought was really insulting to the person who wrote the letter. The person was claiming planned city hall budget cuts were going to negatively impact kids, and the reply said something about "what are they putting in the water there - try decaff". Keep 'er classy, Sun.

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  41. It seems a joke how the number of employee;s at the Toronto Sun have dwindled , but in comparison of the number of management stays the same. It is a sinking ship anyway.

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  42. I was laid off from sunmedia nov 28. It was an awesome place to work, but unfortunately buying hockey teams and arenas are more important than staff. Good luck quebecor sunmedia staff they are moving all staff to india where employees are cheaper and they can afford to buy the hockey teams and arenas they have always wanted. I cant wait until they layoff more, just to see how heartless they really are.

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  43. I feel for 1:33pm. Being laid off is most disruptive to ones career goals. I also agree, hockey and arenas seem to be far more important than the underpaid and much overworked few that are left. Wonder how someone in India will take the pic at a local hockey game or how they will deliver those last few papers when the press is late in London or Islington. Lets face facts we are all just a number leading to an end. It hurts when we all care so much about what we do everyday

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    1. I work for Sunmedia. It has been scary since being bought (was previously Osprey) by Sun Media as i have seen many good people being lead to the door. Hope my job is safe lucky for me noone in India does what i do here at a local level. I wish everyone the best in their future endeavors.

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  44. I worked at the Sun for just over 3 years and was alway's treated with respect from all people
    who I was in contact with.It is just to bad money is put in front of the good worker.It seems to be the new world order.

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