Nearly 700 people were laid off from Tribune Co. newspapers Wednesday as the company prepares to reorganize its publishing division, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The layoffs, which did not affect the company’s television stations, come at the end of an eventful year for Tribune. The company emerged from bankruptcy in January with a plan to shift focus to its television stations, naming television executive Peter Ligouri CEO just weeks later. In July, Tribune announced the acquisition of 19 stations from Local TV.
Tribune also installed Larry Wert as president of local broadcasting. Wert has made a number of changes at WPIX, Tribune’s CW affiliate in New York City.
Commenting on today’s news, Ligouri said the company is “organizing around functional lines” and committed to maintaining “best-in-class local journalism.” The publishing division realignment will take effect January 1.