400 L.A. Times workers have hours cut.400 L.A. Times workers have hours cut In a cost-cutting effort, the Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). has reduced the number of hours worked by about 400 part-time part-time adj. For or during less than the customary or standard time: a part-time job. part circulation and production employees. Of that number, about 270 were involved with the now-defunct "P.M. Final" edition. The Times also eliminated the positions of about 30 other downtown workers who worked 12-hour-a-week shifts. The newspaper is attempting to transfer them to other sections, said spokeswoman Laura Morgan Morgan, American family of financiers and philanthropists. Junius Spencer Morgan, 1813–90, b. West Springfield, Mass., prospered at investment banking. . At the Orange County edition, hours were cut back for about 90 production workers who typically worked less than 20 hours a week, said Bill Furlow, the Times Orange County marketing director. At the Times, "part-time" also refers to workers who put in full 40-hour-a-week shifts but do not receive benefits, Morgan said. The reductions come on the heels of another down quarterly report by parent company Times Mirror Co., which said second-quarter earnings showed a 10.9 percent drop in net income from last year. The newspaper division of the parent showed a 13.7 percent decline in operating profit Operating profit (or loss) Revenue from a firm's regular activities less costs and expenses and before income deductions. operating profit See operating income. , as well. The layoffs represent a switch in company policy articulated ar·tic·u·la·ted adj. Characterized by or having articulations; jointed. last October by Publisher David Laventhol, who told employees in a memo, "Any staff reductions that prove necessary . . . will be accomplished through attrition Attrition The reduction in staff and employees in a company through normal means, such as retirement and resignation. This is natural in any business and industry. Notes: ." Indeed, the Times has reduced employment levels by 177 since Laventhol's edict A decree or law of major import promulgated by a king, queen, or other sovereign of a government. An edict can be distinguished from a public proclamation in that an edict puts a new statute into effect whereas a public proclamation is no more than a declaration of a law , all through attrition. Only 16 slots that came open via attrition have been filled, Morgan said. Furlow said that cutting back the hours of part-timers should not be considered as severe a measure as laying off full-time employees. "When you have full-time employees, you have a certain commitment between the employer and the employee," Furlow said. "It seems that there's a qualitative difference between letting a person like that go and reducing the hours of a part-timer. A part-time person understands his hours are expandable and contractable." Furlow said the reductions will not affect the size or quality of the finished product. |
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