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Economy |
N.Y. Times to File Notice It Will Close Boston Globe |
2009-05-05 |
The New York Times Co. said last night that it is notifying federal authorities of its plans to shut down the Boston Globe, raising the possibility that New England's most storied newspaper could cease to exist within weeks. After down-to-the-wire negotiations did not produce millions of dollars in union concessions, the Times Co. said that it will file today a required 60-day notice of the planned shutdown under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification law. The move could amount to a negotiating ploy to extract further concessions from the Globe's unions, since the notice does not require the Times Co. to close the paper after 60 days. The deadline, however, would put the unions under fierce pressure to produce additional savings, and the Boston Newspaper Guild promptly called the step a "bullying" tactic by the company. Some industry observers have expressed skepticism that Times Co. Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. would want his legacy to include the shuttering of the Globe, which his company bought in 1993. But the Times Co. itself is under strong financial pressure. It recently mortgaged its new Manhattan headquarters, borrowed $250 million from a Mexican billionaire at 14 percent interest, laid off 100 newsroom staffers and cut salaries by 5 percent. Globe management said in a toughly worded statement: "Filing the WARN notice is a difficult step that we would like to avoid. But, unfortunately, given the state of the negotiations, it is one we must be prepared to take." The paper's circulation dropped 14 percent in the most recent six-month period. The Globe is expected to lose $85 million this year, the company says. |
Posted by:Fred |
#11 Pravda (aka New York Times) already owns it. |
Posted by: CrazyFool 2009-05-05 23:22 |
#10 Sell it to the Pravda or Xinhua |
Posted by: Willy 2009-05-05 22:39 |
#9 They have been saying this for awhile now... so... I say... CLOSE IT OR SHUT UP! |
Posted by: 3dc 2009-05-05 22:14 |
#8 why are they notifying the Feds of anything? I vaguely recall the passage of an act or law that required companies of certain sizes to make such notification since during the last big down turn numerous businesses left employees and local government out of the picture till the day the 'closed' sign appeared. That created situations in which the management knew they were closing shop yet had people working for them without intending the pay them which is tantamount to theft of services if not involuntary servitude. It also put local government agencies in the fire brigade mode to ramp up services for those who then found themselves unemployed, bills due, and unemployment insurance weeks from kicking in. |
Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-05-05 19:18 |
#7 You think the union would make it that long, huh, Jim? Optimist. My question is, why are they notifying the Feds of anything? Hoping for a last minute |
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2009-05-05 19:07 |
#6 Oh Glenmore, priceless, let the union try to run it by their own rules, It won't last a month. |
Posted by: Redneck Jim 2009-05-05 14:03 |
#5 Why not give it to the union to run? |
Posted by: Glenmore 2009-05-05 13:34 |
#4 So then what? The unions cave and everybody up here decides to start reading the Globe again? Not gonna happen. They're just postponing the inevitable. I'd prefer Boston remain a two newspaper town, but if one has to go down, I'd take a certain pleasure that it's this elitist, hypocritical rag that thought it was never gonna happen to them. |
Posted by: tu3031 2009-05-05 12:05 |
#3 Millions of trees heave a (carbon dioxide laden) sigh of relief. Think of the saplings!!!! |
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2009-05-05 10:50 |
#2 Curse you for screwing over the troops. Years ago. FU for having no standards when you had power and influence. Bye. |
Posted by: newc 2009-05-05 01:54 |
#1 yawn. Who cares? No one really. Their "reporters" will all find work in the Obama administration and their 6 or 7 remaining readers will discover much more interesting and intelligent reporting and discussion available on the web. |
Posted by: Jumbo Slinerong5015 2009-05-05 01:10 |