Tribune Co to cut 250 jobs, jobs to go to Philippines

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NEW YORK, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Publisher and broadcaster Tribune Co.Â on Friday said it will cut 250 call-center jobs at its daily newspapers and outsource those functions to a U.S. company with operations in the Philippines.

The cuts involve 120 full-time jobs and 130 part-time jobs, and affect papers such as the Chicago Tribune, Newsday on New York’s Long Island and The Baltimore Sun.

Tribune’s Los Angeles Times already had outsourced its call-center operations, spokesman Jeff Reiter said.

The cuts amount to about 1 percent of Tribune’s publishing operations, and will take place through the fall of 2006 and into early 2007, Reiter said.

Tribune declined to say how the move would affect earnings.

APAC Customer Services , based in Deerfield, Illinois, will take over the call-center operations. Calls for Tribune will go to APAC’s operations in the Philippines.

An employee memo at the Orlando Sentinel that was posted on the Romenesko journalism Web log said that employees can apply for other open positions in the company, and that those who do not get a job will receive a severance package.

Reiter confirmed that the memo, signed by Sentinel publisher Kathy Waltz, is authentic.

“The intensely competitive media environment we find ourselves in and the changes happening within our industry make it even more important that we continue to look for better ways to meet the needs of our readers and advertisers,” Waltz wrote in the memo.

Tribune is under pressure from its largest shareholder, the Chandler Trusts, to boost shareholder value, such as by spinning off its broadcasting division or finding a buyer.

In May, the company said it would buy back up to $2 billion in stock and sell off $500 million worth of assets in a bid to boost the company’s performance.

Tribune shares have nearly recovered from a 9-percent drop after the company reported disappointing quarterly earnings in July. Shares are up 13 percent since the buyback announcement in May.

Source : Reuters.com