While other Canadian media conglomerates continue to announce severance packages and layoffs, Rogers Publishing has taken a different approach to cutting its labour costs in the face of a worsening economy.
Yesterday, all full-time staff with the company’s more than 70 publications were given the opportunity to reduce their work week to four days from five, accepting a 20 per cent pay cut for the duration of 2009.
“The four-day work week offered to publishing employees is purely voluntary and time limited,” for 11 months, said Louise Leger, spokesperson for the company.
“Its purpose is to save money.”
The company, which owns some of Canada’s most read magazines, including Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Today’s Parent and MoneySense, would not disclose how much money it intended to save with the package, but Leger did indicate the package was not being offered to other divisions of the Rogers media empire.
