Editors and reporters in the New York Times Co. newsroom have broken their silence concerning growing frustrations regarding the direction of the paper.

Staffers at the New York Times staged a newsroom walk out on Thursday as a demonstration of solidarity as management threatens job cuts. The protest followed a pair of letters sent earlier in the week to Executive Editor Dean Baquet and Managing Editor Joseph Kahn by Times reporters and copy editors

In the copy editors’ letter to Baquet and Kahn, they say they feel betrayed and disrespected in the newsroom, and ask that management reconsider staffing cuts that are expected as the paper plans to restructure.

“Cutting us down to 50 to 55 editors from more than 100, and expecting the same level of quality in the report, is dumbfoundingly unrealistic,” the letter reads. “You often speak about the importance of engaging readers, of valuing, investing and giving a voice to readers. Dean and Joe: We are your readers, and you have turned your backs on us.”

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Editors and reporters decry the lack of transparency shown by Times management as it plans to restructure its operation, which includes consolidating the two separate groups of editors into one group and asking copy editors to resubmit applications for roles in the newsroom.

Times reporters sent a letter to management in solidarity. They say while they’ve had to stomach many rounds of layoffs and buyouts in the past, this one has been the most destructive to morale and to the Times as a whole.

“Editors — and yes, that especially means copy editors — save reporters and the Times every day from countless errors, large and small,” they say in the letter. “Requiring them to dance for their supper sends a clear message to them, and to us, that the respect we have shown the Times will not be reciprocated.”

Copy editors say they’ve been left out of the loop regarding what the end goals are. The back and forth decision making editors describe in the letter suggests Times management is simply taking stabs in the dark.

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The editors said they actually feel more respected by readers than by management, and reference an internal report in which the copy editors were compared to dogs urinating on fire hydrants.

“And that is why it feels like such a profound waste that morale is low throughout the newsroom, and that many of us, from editors to reporters to photo editors to support staff, are angry, embittered and scared of losing our jobs,” the letter reads.

Like many of its peers, the Times is attempting to shift more of its operation to digital, as print revenues suffer.

In its most recent earnings report, the Times said print advertising revenue fell nearly 18% in the first quarter, while digital ad revenue increased by nearly 19% and accounted for more than 38% of the company’s total ad revenue.

The Times recently named its former head of advertising and subscription revenue, Meredith Kopit Levien, as the company’s chief operating officer. Kopit Levien is charged with streamlining and accelerating the operations of the rapidly growing digital businesses.