Times Closes Distribution Organization; 550 Employees 'Affected'
On Friday, The New York Times announced that it was cutting the number of sections it has in its newspaper, and today the paper announced its shutting down the wholesale distribution business center that delivered it, and about 200 other newspapers.
The release:
NEW YORK—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Sept. 8, 2008—The New York Times Company announced today that in January it will close City & Suburban, its distribution organization that delivers The New York Times and approximately 200 other newspapers and magazines to newsstands and retail outlets in the New York metropolitan area. Going forward, The New York Times will be distributed to newsstands and retail outlets through a combination of third-party wholesalers and the Company's own drivers.
"We have made the decision to exit the wholesale distribution business," said Scott Heekin-Canedy, president and general manager of The New York Times. "This was a difficult decision to make since it affects a large number of dedicated employees. But the business environment has changed dramatically since 1992 when City & Suburban was formed and wholesale distribution is no longer an economical business for the Times Company. With this change, we move to a distribution model similar to that of our national edition, which is delivered by third-party organizations. We expect that this will have no effect on retail availability of The Times, and it will allow us to improve our financial performance."
Approximately 550 full-time equivalent employees will be affected by the closure and the Company plans to ease the change by providing severance packages to them.
The closure of City & Suburban will result in additional severance costs as well as cost savings and the Company plans to update its guidance on both items in the fourth quarter.
When the newspaper is selling poorly, close and stop distributing it to stop the bleeding. Makes sense?
There has been a concerted effort to break the Union by the 3 Major Newspaper Publishers in New York for at least the last 15 years. Any driver in the newspaper business today will verify this. Most people have false information regarding the drivers because they get their information from the same media responsible for these layoffs. There have been major concessions the Unions have given back to management over the years but this is never talked about. Management has complained about neverending losses. The Unions have been FAIR to say the least in trying to help management. There comes a point when a line must be drawn to protect the workers - the main reason for belonging to a Union. Ask some of these drivers what they pay for healthcare. Ask them what their pension is. I feel terrible for these men and woman who are loosing their jobs. What I do know is that this wonderful Union that they belong to will help them and hopefully there will be room for them at the other newspapers and the layoffs are kept to a minumum.
When is plain old BAD MANAGEMENT and GREED finally the reason a company doesn't always survive. Has anyone been reading the paper lately? Look at all the banks that are suffering due to bad management and greed. It's time to stop blaming the workers for everything.
I bet that if the working men and woman on Wall Street had a Union to back them the firings and layoffs wouldn't have been half as bad as they have been over the past year. Before anyone knocks a particular Union they should know the truth instead of looking at them as if they are all the same.
By the way, the Union, The Newspaper and Mail Deleverer's Union, is its' own independent and it is not affiliated with any other Union. I have read in some blogs that they are Teamsters and that is inaccurate. Also, they do not make $150,000 per year. Anyone who tells you this is lying or being lied to. Most make a good salary - between $55,000 - $75,000 per year. If they make any more than that it is because they work 6 or 7 days a week and obviously get paid for working extra. They work nights, weekends, holidays, and in the snow while most people are home with their families. I don't hear the drivers complaining about these things, but for the public to think that they make twice that amount is not fair.