Miami
Herald
executive editor Martin Baron's memo
re: buyout packages
From: Baron, Martin
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2001 6:29 AM
To: .MIA Newsroom
Subject: memo to the staff
To the staff: Tomorrow,
employees who are eligible for the voluntary buyout package
and the retirement package will receive letters outlining
the terms of severance. In this period of high anxiety, the
letters may well contribute to the stress in the newsroom
and throughout the company -- if for no other reason than
that they are written, as required, in the language of a legal
document.
With this note and the
meetings that follow, I can't expect to relieve much of the
worry and nervousness, but I do hope to provide some answers
and end some of the wild speculation.
Before I give you some
sense of how the voluntary buyouts and retirement packages
are designed to unfold in the newsroom, I need to take care
of some important business -- to tell you of my gratitude
for your dedication, hard work and consummate professionalism
during weeks of uncertainty.
Despite unease over your
personal situation and the condition of the newsroom when
this is all over, you have continued to produce an exceptional
newspaper. You had ample reason to be distracted, and yet
The Herald continues to shine. We aggressively pursue
the news and develop fascinating, insightful enterprise. We
demonstrate ingenuity and imagination in photos, graphics
and design. We are editing and producing the paper with ever
greater attention to quality and to meeting our deadlines.
I apologize for being
so frequently sequestered over the past month in meetings
about the voluntary buyouts and retirement packages. During
those sessions, Alberto has worked mightily with Herald managers
to fashion a package that accomplishes a variety of goals.
One was to be generous to those who will be leaving the company.
Another goal -- critically important to Alberto, me and the
entire management team -- was to assure that the integrity
and quality of the news operation are maintained and that
the company continues to operate effectively after employees
have left.
In the newsroom, Elissa
Vanaver, Mark Seibel and I met for countless hours -- among
ourselves and with all department heads -- in order to think
through how the newsroom might manage with a staff that would
be about 10% smaller.
As you can imagine, this
was not an easy task because we fully understand that people
here work hard and contribute to the quality of the paper
in so many different ways, some highly visible and others
less visible but equally vital. The effort was complicated
by the fact that some departments have already seen their
staff shrink as colleagues left The Herald and their
positions were eliminated or frozen. We also had to keep in
mind current work loads, the challenge posed by our competitors
and certain imperatives in covering a big, sprawling, complex
community such as South Florida.
Department heads were
asked to articulate the core mission of their areas, to explain
the duties of each staff member, to outline how their departments
are currently organized, to propose alternative ways of organizing
the staff and to spell out their priorities for an era of
smaller staffs. Elissa, Mark and I asked tough questions because
there were tough choices to make. You should know that your
department heads were forceful, deeply committed advocates
for their areas, and the choices that have been made are ultimately
mine. Specified categories of employees in certain departments
have been deemed eligible for the voluntary buyout package
and the retirement package. While I would prefer not to reduce
staff in any area, with the economic downturn I must. I have
designated certain areas for voluntary buyouts and retirement
packages because I believe they will inflict the least damage
on the newsroom and allow us to emerge from this period strong
enough to carry out our core mission. No one is pretending
that this will be painless, but we have tried to minimize
the hurt.
To assure the smoothest
possible operation of the newsroom when this process is over,
we have set limits on the number of employees in each designated
category who will be accepted for the retirement and buyout
packages. For example, we are willing to accept up to four
reporters in Broward and up to two reporters in Miami Metro,
which has lost a significant number of positions over the
last year. We are willing to accept up to two reporters and
one assignment editor in Neighbors and up to four copy editors
in all areas except Sports, where we will accept none. Up
to three graphics artists could be accepted, but no news designers
will be. Plans can change, depending on who steps forward
and our business needs.
I'm not going to run
through the limits for each category here, but department
heads will be meeting with you to provide additional details.
Please remember that these are goals only. The actual number
of voluntary buyouts and retirement packages accepted in those
categories could vary if required by the needs of the business.
In achieving the overall newsroom goal for fewer full-time
equivalent employees, we have frozen some but not all currently
open positions. We believe that a few open positions must
be filled, and that they require special skills or experience
that current staffers do not possess. We anticipate hiring
people to fill those spots. At the same time, many newsroom
employees possess skills that we cannot afford to lose. The
Herald, as Alberto noted in his letter to employees, "reserves
the right to limit or decline any voluntary separation based
on business needs."
Overall, The Herald
aims to reduce its staff by about 180 positions. Because The
Herald hopes to achieve the reductions on a voluntary
basis, the buyout packages are being sent to a larger group
of employees, approximately 700. The pattern in the newsroom
will be the same. The number of people receiving offers will
far exceed the number of people who will be accepted for severance.
There are bound to be
various reactions to the letter being distributed tomorrow.
Some people may take offense that their department or their
job category is on the list for voluntary buyouts or retirement
packages while others may be upset that they were excluded
and are unable to take advantage of the offer.
I can only say that we
set parameters on buyout eligibility based on our best judgment
of what the newsroom could handle and how the newsroom can
best function when the process is over. Lest there be any
misunderstanding, those receiving the buyout offers are certainly
not deemed to be less valuable employees. We wanted to make
the pool of eligible employees sufficiently large to elicit
enough volunteers while controlling as much as possible the
ultimate impact on the newsroom.
A voluntary program of
this magnitude means that we are likely to make adjustments
in how we do our work -- in the sections and editions we produce
and in some people's job assignments. We'll be sorting through
those issues during the next few weeks. In those instances
where prospective changes are already known and could influence
decisions on whether to volunteer for the buyout, we will
make them known to affected staffers.
Despite the length of
this note, you probably have many questions. To answer them,
I'll be holding meetings today in Miami at 11:30 a.m. and
5:30 p.m. and in Broward at 2:30 p.m. You are also free to
contact Barbara Ferranti in Human Resources.
Once again, thank you
for your outstanding work during a very difficult period.
The newsroom may not get through this easily, but it will
get through it ultimately. And The Herald is sure to
keep proving itself a champion of journalistic excellence.
Marty
* * *
Miami
Herald publisher's memo to staff on downsizing
From: Ibarguen, Alberto
Sent:
Wednesday, May 16, 2001 1:26 PM
To: .MIA All Herald Users
Subject: Herald Restructuring -- Voluntary Buyout Program
To All Employees:
A few weeks ago, Knight
Ridder announced its intent to reduce its work force. Since
then, folks at every KR property have been working through
their needs, market conditions, goals and possible separation
targets and packages. So have we.
Our targeted staff reduction
will be in the range of 180 positions. How will we do that?
First, we will cancel several dozen currently open positions.
We will also offer a buyout package to approximately 700 full-time,
regular employees. Obviously, that exceeds the 180 target,
but, since we hope to achieve the necessary reductions on
a voluntary basis, we're sending the offer to a much larger
group. This also means that the majority of employees will
not be offered a buyout because they are not in a job category
or position that will be reduced. Next week, formal letters
detailing the buyout packages will be sent to eligible full-time,
regular employees who have at least one year of service as
of July 1, 2001. If you do receive a letter, you will have
45 days to consider your personal needs and preferences and
whether you wish to volunteer for a buyout.
For retirees or early
retirees, the letters will include a calculation of pension
and severance benefits. For others, it will include a calculation
of benefits. In either case, the employees who receive such
a letter are not required to volunteer for the buyout. If
you get a letter, that means that you are in a category of
job or position that is targeted for reduction.
If you do receive a letter,
it will be in the form of a legal document. You will have
45 days during which you may sign and return the letter notifying
us of your interest in the buyout. Letters returned will be
held until the end of the 45-day period, at which time we
will review all requests. Of course, The Miami Herald reserves
the right to limit or decline any voluntary separation based
on business needs. If, at the end of that 45-day period, we
have not reached the staff reduction goals, we may then turn
to involuntary layoffs in order to achieve them in the desired
areas.
We have agreed with Knight
Ridder to offer two programs. One plan is designed to meet
the needs of employees who are eligible for retirement or
early retirement. The second plan is for other employees who
may wish to volunteer to take the severance. These voluntary
plans are open to full-time, regular employees of The Miami
Herald Publishing Company, who have at least one full year
of service as of July 1, 2001, and who are in positions or
groups of positions targeted for reduction.
The voluntary plans are
limited by the number of positions we need to reduce in a
given category. Many positions have been excluded from the
plan due to business needs.
In the event that we
get more volunteers than the target in a particular area,
we may limit the number of packages approved in that area.
In the event that we have to choose who will be given a package
from more candidates than necessary, we will select volunteers
based on years of service and performance appraisals. Here
is an outline of the benefits offered by each of the two plans:
Retirement or Early
Retirement Benefits Eligibility:
Full-time, regular employees
who are 55 years old or more and have at least ten years of
service and are in a job category or position that has been
identified as a target for reduction:
- 2.5 weeks of pay per
full year of service, with a minimum payment of one year.
There is no maximum limit.
- A one-time, lump sum
bonus of $35,000.
- Six months of insurance
coverage at the active employee rate, which then may be
converted to COBRA coverage for the next 12 months at the
individual's cost.
- Group outplacement
assistance, including resume writing, job transition and
investment information.
Buyout Benefits Eligibility:
Full-time, regular employees
who have one or more years of service and are in a job category
or position that has been identified as a target for reduction:
- 2.5 weeks of pay per
full year of service, with a minimum payment of one year.
There is no maximum limit.
- Six months of insurance
coverage at the active employee rate, which then may be
converted to COBRA coverage for the next 12 months at the
individual's cost.
- For employees who
are 50 years old or more and have ten or more years of service,
a one-time lump sum bonus of $35,000.
- For employees who
are 50 years old or more and have between five and nine
years of service, a one-time, lump sum bonus of $20,000.
- Group outplacement
seminar to assist with resume writing and job transition
information.
Your decision whether
to participate in either of these voluntary programs in not
likely to be an easy one. It is an important decision for
both you and The Herald. But, it's also important that
you know up-front that we can neither encourage you nor discourage
you from participating.
Still, representatives
in Human Resources are ready to answer questions as they may
arise. Please don't hesitate to contact your HR consultant,
your department vice president or me. Also, during this process,
we'll send periodic updates with information and Q&As
to keep folks well informed.
Thank you for your understanding
and patience during these past few weeks. And thank you, in
advance, for your understanding and patience during the months
ahead as we restructure ourselves to stay competitive. I am
grateful for the continued good work every one is doing through
this challenging time.
Alberto
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