Freedom Cuts Pay 5%
‘Painful but necessary' step in keeping company viable
By Michael Malone -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/1/2009 10:26:56 AM
Seeing no end to the economic malaise, Freedom Communications announced a 5% pay reduction for all employees. The cut goes into effect July 13."We are facing the challenge of a general economic situation that experts say will continue to remain weak for many months to come," said CEO Burl Osborne. "In this very difficult climate we need to continue to reduce expenses, and we determined that the fairest way to accomplish this with the minimum impact on operations is the action we are announcing today."
In March, the company announced that employees would take five days of unpaid leave before June 30. Osborne says he considered more furloughs, but felt the pay cut was a better way to reduce both employee uncertainty and operational impact.
"This is a painful but necessary step as we continue the transformation of our company while delivering our valuable products and services to our customers, advertisers and communities," Osborne said. "Our goal is maintaining a healthy business with a combination of cost initiatives and a focus on revenue while we weather the economic storm."
Osborne was named interim CEO two weeks ago after previous CEO Scott Flanders left to head up Playboy.
Privately owned Freedom owns over 100 newspapers and eight TV stations, including WRGB Albany.
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