PORTLAND — Richard L. Connor, chief executive officer of MaineToday Media, announced that 38 full- and part-time employees of The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram were notified today that they will be laid off in two weeks.

An additional 23 full- and part-time employees have agreed to take voluntary buyouts.

Most departments of the newspaper were impacted but the majority of the reductions will occur in the news/editorial department. Full-time employees who are being laid off will receive two weeks of severance pay for every year of employment.

Three people employed by the company’s central Maine newspapers, the Morning Sentinel and the Kennebec Journal, accepted voluntary layoffs. There were no involuntary layoffs in central Maine.

Connor attributed the staff reductions to the poor economy and a decline in advertising revenue experienced by newspapers.

“Our business is inextricably tied to the national economy so, like other companies, we’ve had to confront declining revenue with a downsizing of the work force. Nevertheless, it is difficult to part with talented and loyal employees, some of whom have contributed many years of service to our company, and none of whom is responsible for the economic conditions in which we operate,” Connor said, in a prepared statement.


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