No layoffs after company gets numbers it needs

The Times Union has received enough buyout responses that involuntary layoffs will not be necessary, publisher George Hearst said today.

Sixteen people – including some from the exempt ranks – applied for buyouts, Hearst said.

“We have probably nine of those we can accept,” the publisher said. “Of the nine, there are five in the newsroom.”

In editorial, three Guild members and two exempt employees are likely to receive the buyout.

Hearst said that those numbers were sufficient so that no layoffs would be necessary.

“We are very glad to hear that only voluntary buyouts will occur,” Guild President Tim O’Brien said. “While we hate to see the size of the staff shrink any further, we also prefer our members to leave voluntarily with extra money in their pockets than to be laid off.”