Just days after acquiring Tribune Publishing, the parent company of The Hartford Courant, Alden Global Capital is offering voluntary buyouts to non-unionized employees across the company. On its first day it replaced Tribune's CEO Terry Jimenez with Alden Capital’s president Heath Freeman.
Rebecca Lurye, a reporter at The Hartford Courant and chair of the Courant Guild said Alden is also preparing to offer buyouts to union members at the Courant and other unionized papers. Union members are currently protected from layoffs and are bargaining a contract.
“So, we are going to be fighting for the best package that we can get for our members. There are very long-time members who may be interested in this and deserve to leave with dignity instead of facing potential layoffs down the road. So, we were surprised to see it so soon, but at the same time this is Alden’s MO,” Lurye said.
The Chicago Tribune, also now owned by Alden, reported that the voluntary separation plan sent Wednesday offered 12 weeks of pay for eligible employees and an extra week for every year with the company.
Alden Global Capital did not respond to requests for comment.