Gannett layoffs continue as photographers complain they lack coronavirus protection

USA Today parent Gannett has been laying off journalists across many of its 241 newspapers in recent days as photographers complain that they’re not being protected from the coronavirus.

It’s the second round of cuts since the nation’s largest newspaper chain announced on March 30 it would be slashing executive pay and instituting one week of furloughs a month through June for staffers making more than $38,000 a year.

Locally, at least seven editorial staffers were laid off at The Record in northern NJ, according to sources. Among them, according to an insider, was a woman who is nine months pregnant and a staffer who’s been out on disability

“They fired her anyway and now she doesn’t have a job when her disability ends,” said the insider.

Meanwhile, photographers at The Record, which serves the densely populated Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Passaic counties, have complained about not receiving the personal protection equipment promised by Gannett’s headquarters in McLean, Va., according to a recording of a recent conference call between Dan Sforza, executive editor of The Record and Northjersey.com.

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