WNYC Studios parent New York Public Radio President LaFontaine Oliver last week told employees that a 12% staff layoff was in the works as the public media company blames “macroeconomic factors.” Now the union that represents NYPR workers is publicly urging Oliver to rethink the move. Rather than layoffs, the NYPR Union is proposing management consider a combination of executive and senior management pay cuts, furloughs, buyouts, and voluntary reduced hours. It is also working to enlist the public’s help.
“We are urging the organization to consider alternatives such as executive pay cuts, buyouts, New York State's shared work program and furloughs before finalizing any layoffs,” says the NYPR Union. It has so far collected more than three thousand signatures on an online petition.
The union has also made public a presentation it made to leaders at New York Public Radio that show why it believes cutting about 40 staff members will do more harm to the company in the long run. The union says layoffs will damage the station’s performance and weaken engagement with listeners, which in turn will lead to less donations in the future. It also points to “hidden costs” in the layoffs, such as paying workers for their unused vacation time and a 20% drop in job performance for those that remain on the job. It points to research showing employees are 2.5-times more likely to leave a job after layoffs.
“Companies that conduct layoffs underperform for nearly three years longer than those that do not,” the PowerPoint document says. “We do not believe cutting our staff by 12% will lead to greater long-term stability.”
The union also says NYPR is falling into a “layoff trap” as the public broadcaster appears to have been affected by a “layoff contagion” that has spread through media companies this year. “Experts have identified a phenomenon that affects many industries called copycat layoffs. We know you may be under pressure to follow suit. But minimizing layoffs and choosing a different path can make us stand out,” it said to the station in its presentation.
The union says based on the support it received, NYPR management has agreed to what it describes as “enhanced severance terms” and limited buyouts. But the union says in a social media post that the station is not considering other alternatives to try to save jobs.
New York Public Radio, which operates WNYC Studios as well as news/talk WNYC-FM & AM (93.9/820), classical WQXR (105.9), New Jersey Public Radio, and Gothamist.com has been hurt by a “free fall in the advertising market” according to Oliver who said in a memo last week that has led to a “sharp reduction” in sponsorship revenue.
The public media group has a staff of 340 full-time and part-time employees. A 12% reduction in force would amount to approximately 41 staffers. Oliver did not say what areas of the operation would be affected but promised NYPR would preserve its journalism and music efforts. A majority of open positions would be eliminated as part of the cuts, which could reduce the number of existing employees affected by the move.
In June, NYPR said it was facing an $8 million deficit causing the group to institute a hiring freeze and eliminate bonuses for the senior team. The organization also suspended its next intern cycle. NYPR’s interns are paid by a third-party organization.
Oliver also said in June that management and the Board of Directors were “embarking on a financial planning process” that would last through the summer “and will almost certainly result in additional cost-cutting in the coming fiscal year.”
NYPR joins NPR and Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting among the public media groups that have made or are planning to undergo cost-cutting measures.