Torstar offers 1,050 voluntary buyouts

It’s confirmed: Torstar is offering 1,050 voluntary severance packages to its 6,000-plus employees.

"The company is in negotiations with the union leadership," Torstar representative Bob Hepburn told Canadian Press Thursday. Once those negotiations are complete, the company will throw out the offer to editorial, circulation, advertising and human resources staff.

It’s confirmed: Torstar is offering 1,050 voluntary severance packages to its 6,000-plus employees.

"The company is in negotiations with the union leadership," Torstar representative Bob Hepburn told Canadian Press Thursday. Once those negotiations are complete, the company will throw out the offer to editorial, circulation, advertising and human resources staff.

Rumours of a buyout started Thursday when a Toronto Star employee tweeted the news from a company town hall meeting. While the buyouts are now reality, not rumour, there are still no details on how many employees the company aims to cut, or, really, any other details of the buyout.

As Stuart Laidlaw told The Globe and Mail, “We're concerned that we might be whittling away at our ability to put out the kind of Toronto Star we want to put out.” The unit chair for the Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild added: “You're not cutting fat any more. You're cutting to the bone.”