Business & Tech

Star-Ledger Announces Round of Layoffs Wednesday

State's largest paper cites economic woes.

The publisher of The Star-Ledger announced Wednesday the paper would be laying off 34 employees, a first for a publication famous in the industry for refraining from layoffs, NJ.com reported.

The layoffs include 18 staff in a newsroom of 195, the paper’s publisher, Richard Vezza, also said. The paper’s headquarters are located at Court and Washington streets in Newark. The Star-Ledger is New Jersey’s largest newspaper by circulation.   

In an industry battered by competition and falling ad revenues during the last several years, the Ledger was unique in refraining from staff layoffs. Previously, the paper--which once had a job-security pledge in place for non-union staff--has relied on buyouts and attrition to reduce staff.

Advance Publications, which owns The Star-Ledger, has initiated even more drastic staff cuts at its other publications, including The Times Picayune in New Orleans and papers in Alabama. In June, hundreds of jobs were cut at those papers when they ceased daily print editions and shifted their focus online.

Vezza said, however, that the Ledger staff cuts would not be nearly as extensive. 

"This is not a foreshadowing of the demise of the paper. We have no plans for further layoffs,” Vezza told NJ.com.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here