Canada's The Globe and Mail newspaper offering new round of voluntary buyouts to staff, attempts to cut costs; CEO says he would be happy with 60 buyouts

Kendall Sinclair

TORONTO , April 22, 2013 (The Canadian Press ) – The Globe and Mail is offering a new round of voluntary buyouts to staff as the newspaper moves to cut costs in the face of a slump in print advertising and to position itself for the digital era.

The newspaper did not say how many it was seeking, but CEO Phillip Crawley said in an interview he would be "happy" with 60, the same number who took packages under a similar program in 2009.

A buyout of that size would represent about eight per cent of the newspaper's 770 employees.

Crawley said staff were informed of the offers at an afternoon meeting.

Asked if there could be layoffs, he said that would depend on how many and which employees opted to take a buyout offer and what happened in the market.

Crawley said the move was not just about cutting staff, but making sure the newspaper has skills in "the right place for where the business is going."

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