The coronavirus pandemic is affecting various media outlets as plenty of people have lost their jobs. When it comes to Gannett, the newspaper chain has not only laid-off workers, but they’re now outsourcing the jobs of 485 employees on its business side to India.
In 2019, New Media Investment Group’s GateHouse chain bought Gannett for $1.4 billion. Upon the sale, chief executive Mike Reed said the company would need to find at least $300 million to reduce annual costs for the deal to work.
“Gannett is undertaking a massive company-wide transformation,” the company said in a statement. “To help the company transform quickly, we must remain nimble and focused on the needs of the business, while keeping our operating costs low, our control environment tight and our processes as efficient as possible.” The plan to outsource works comes off the heels of Gannett furloughing nearly every employee without pay for a week over several months during the pandemic. Furthermore, the company offered buyouts to all employees, 500 of whom ultimately took management up on the offer.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
