The Columbian confirms layoffs

BY CHARITY THOMPSON of the VBJ

Effective this month, 20 staff will be cut from the daily newspaper's roster. The cuts are across all departments, according to Publisher Scott Campbell.

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The company employed 306 people as of April 25, according to information supplied to the Vancouver Business Journal.

With the layoffs, other cost-saving measures include trimming two daily opinion pages to one and folding the Food, Neighbors and home and garden sections into the daily Life section.

"Back when advertising was a little more robust ... we had the advertising to support specialized sections and we expanded them," Campbell said. "With the contraction of business we're moving back to where it was."

Campbell said he expects the changes to bring the company back to an acceptable profit level after two years of what he called "a negative economy."

"This is Vancouver's version of what's happening in markets across the United States," he said. "We're very sad to have to make these changes but it is necessary to ensure the long-term health of the company. Every business has to go through this at some time."

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