Dozens of Mississippians lost their jobs this week in layers of irony. Mississippi Department of Employment—the agency that helps people who get fired or laid off—said Wednesday that it will lay off 40 employees at the end of July. The day before, Gannett Co. Inc. laid off 10 Clarion-Ledger employees, several media blogs reported, part of the 700-plus job cuts the corporation made this week nationwide.
The Clarion-Ledger published a story about the MDES layoffs this week, but so far has not reported its own losses. Publisher Leslie Hurst and Editor Ronnie Agnew were not immediately available to comment this morning.
MDES is spreading its layoffs over 23 offices around the state. Most offices are losing only one employee, but the main office in Jackson is losing 10. Another 34 temporary workers will also lose their jobs with MDES. The state agency has no plans to close any of its offices or cut its services.
"We're disappointed to lose team members, but this is a very necessary step to maintain the financial health of our organization," Les Range, MDES executive director, said in a statement. "No local offices will be closed."
LaRaye Brown, the MDES spokeswoman, sent the news release. Brown is a former Clarion-Ledger reporter.
Jim Hopkins, a former business editor at Gannett's flagship paper, USA Today, posted this week's Gannett layoffs on Gannett Blog (gannettblog.blogspot.com) as readers sent in reports from across the country. Gannett Blog reported 10 layoffs (four in the newsroom) at the Clarion-Ledger and two job cuts at the Hattiesburg American. The two Hattiesburg positions are open and won't be filled, so no Hattiesburg American employee lost a job this week.
Gannett Blog also posted a memo--supposedly sent from Hurst to Clarion-Ledger employees--explaining the "reduction in force" orders.
"Please know that the Operating Committee and I feel very deeply the anxiety and pain this causes the entire workforce, not only those affected but those who have worked with them side by side," the memo reads.
The memo goes on: "We will continue to focus on our 2011 Operational Plan (see strategic goals posted around the building) and the local controllable business that we can impact. We will continue to work our plan to improve revenues and I hope that all of you will take to heart the strategic objectives of the organization and work toward that end."
At the end of the long memo, she writes: "Please know that your colleagues affected today are not being let go for any performance issue; we must restructure to align our costs with current revenue trends."
Hurst became The Clarion-Ledger in December. Before that, she was publisher of The Daily Advertiser, another Gannett paper, in Lafayette, La. While there, she oversaw a "reduction in force" that sliced a 45-person newsroom to a crew of 23.
Disclaimer: This writer is a former Gannett employee who worked at the Hattiesburg American for two years.
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