The Tennessean
Hollingsworth
Gannett Co., Inc. will unveil a new plan for its Tennessee newsrooms Wednesday in a town hall meeting with employees one day after several newsroom employees were let go at papers in Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville.
More than 12 employees were laid off at The Commercial Appeal Tuesday. Daniel Connolly, president of the Memphis Newspaper Guild, said 12 Guild-covered, newsroom employees were laid off Tuesday. Some managers were also let go but Connolly said he did not have details on those as they’re not cover by the union.
“I’ve sat in on several of the termination meetings today as a Guild (representative) and I’ve been impressed with these employees’ calm and their resolve to make the best of it,” Connolly said. “We’ll aim to help them in the days ahead. Hopefully, I can provide more details soon.”
Laura Hollingsworth, president of The Tennessean and of the USA Today Network – Tennessee, said in a Tuesday email to employees that reductions in the company’s newsrooms across Tennessee “was the first step as we re-secure and level-set our economic vitality to support our journalism.”
“We recognize that this has been a tough day, and we respect and appreciate the work of all our colleagues, especially those who have been impacted by these actions — through no fault of their own,” Hollingsworth said, calling the move a part of a “transformative strategy for the USA Today Network —Tennessee.”
[pullquote-1]Hollingsworth said company leaders will unveil “the complete details of our plans” Wednesday morning at a “Tennessee Town Hall.”
“We look forward to our time together, tomorrow, as we now look ahead to our very powerful future and opportunity in Tennessee,” Hollingsworth said in the email.
