USA Today cuts 60 to 70 jobs due to declining print ads

As Gannett Co.'s newspaper division prepares to split from the company's TV and digital division next year, its flagship paper suffered another major staff reduction this week.

USA Today eliminated 60 to 70 jobs, a cost cutting move the company said comes amid declining print ad sales. According to USA Today, the layoffs, effective immediately Wednesday, hit across various sections in the newsroom and business operations. About half of the jobs cut came from the newsroom, a roughly 8 percent reduction in newsroom staff.

Gannett reports second-quarter publishing revenue – across all 82 of its print publications – fell 5.7 percent from the same time a year ago.

Several news organizations have notably cut staff recently, including CNN, Time Inc. and the Wall Street Journal. U.S. print advertising is expected to fall 2.2 precent in 2014, and overall newspaper advertising is estimated to fall 4 percent.

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