Pay cuts ahead for Press Democrat employees

The Press Democrat, Argus Courier and North Bay Business Journal will cut most nonunion employees’ pay by 2.5 percent as part of a cost-savings move by their parent company, the New York Times Co.

Employees will be given five additional paid days off as part of the wage changes.

Nonunion workers at the company’s larger papers, including the New York Times and Boston Globe, will see their wages cut 5 percent and receive 10 extra vacation days. The Times will lay off 100 people, or 5 percent of its 2,000 employees.

“The environment we are in is the toughest we have seen in our years in business,” chairman Arthur Sulzberger and CEO Janet Robinson said in a statement.

Of the 365 full-time and part-time employees at the three Sonoma County publications, 159 nonunion employees are impacted by the cuts. About 100 mostly part-time employees will not be affected, according to Press Democrat Publisher Bruce Kyse.

Unionized workers in The Press Democrat newsroom have been informed they will be asked to accept similar pay cuts. There are about 105 union employees in the newsroom, circulation and printing plant.

The company said it planned to restore salaries next year, if business conditions permit.