DAILY NEWS: Managers of the company, which owns the Daily News, Inquirer, philly.com and SportsWeek, have proposed cutting 35 jobs within the next six months – on top of layoffs and buyouts that eliminated 45 jobs earlier this month. The potential new round of cuts was detailed in a document, obtained yesterday by the Daily News, that outlined the terms of a potential sale of PMN by its current hedge-fund owners to an investor group now led by local businessmen Lewis Katz and George Norcross. The letter of intent, dated March 20, from Katz and Norcross to Evercore Partners, which is managing the sale of the media company, puts the possible purchase price at $60 million. According to the letter, the job cuts earlier this month cost PMN about $900,000 in severance. The letter notes that the company’s senior managers explained in a presentation to the potential new owners last week that PMN would cut 35 additional jobs, which would cost about $200,000 in severance pay. An additional $500,000 would go toward severance of senior-management officials, the letter says. It also notes that the Norcross and Katz group wants to retain “certain key senior officers” but does not name them. MORE
PHAWKER: First of all, cut 35 more jobs, on top of the 45 you just threw overboard? What exactly are the new owners buying? The honor boxes and a handful of teamsters to replenish them? Replenish them with what? Wire reports and coupons? Second of all, how do you justify spending just $200,000 in severance for 35 rank and file, while spending a half million on severance for an undisclosed number (but surely no more than a handful) of senior managers/executives? Lastly why in God’s name would anyone buy newspapers and then retain key senior staff members who have overseen said newspapers losing 9/10s of their value in the last four or five years? That’s like buying the Titanic while it’s still sinking and keeping the captain on because he’s done such a swell job so far. But then again, why are we surprised? The CEO class always fails upwards. Always.