Reporters will leave The New York Times in this round of cuts, top editors say

Amid protest over planned cuts in the ranks of copy editors, the two top New York Times editors underscored on Thursday in a memo to staff that reporters would be on the receiving end of a buyout program, not just editors.

The memo, which was sent in response to a letter from reporters expressing solidarity with the editing staff, acknowledged that losing “valuable” employees is inevitable during any downsizing.

“We have had cost reductions before and The Times remains very robust,” read the letter, from Managing Editor Joe Kahn and Executive Editor Dean Baquet. “But we’d be foolish to undertake one without reflecting on the reality that departures of close colleagues always hurt.”

Although reporters will be affected by the oncoming newsroom realignment (which has been the subject of dueling staff memos over the last two days) the paper’s editing corps will bear the brunt of the cuts. The long-in-the-works realignment at The New York Times is aimed at shifting the balance of the newsroom toward reporting and away from editing.

Previous cuts, the memo notes, have fallen hardest on the reporting staff. This time, too, reporters will not be immune.

“Several past cost reductions have fallen mainly on reporters. Reporters will leave The Times in this round of cuts as well,” the note reads. “But we are going to invest more, not less, in news gathering and creating outstanding digital content. Any other approach at this critical time in our history would be irresponsible.”

Earlier this year, the paper announced a voluntary buyout program and noted that reporters would “want to consider” the program as the paper reconstituted some of its major desks.

Here’s the note: