New York Times Layoffs Loom: NYT To Shutter Paris Facilities In Latest Blow To European Newspaper Business

As part of an effort to streamline production of its international print product, the New York Times Company is shuttering its editing and prepress print operations in Paris. The changes will result in the loss or relocation of up to 70 jobs, the paper reported Tuesday, citing an internal memo.

“Only by moving ahead with this proposal can we assure our ability to maintain our international print presence for the coming years and do so in a way that will best serve our international readers,” said the memo to the staff of the International New York Times.

The Paris news bureau and advertising department will remain intact, the Times reported, but the company will move editing and prepress operations of the International New York Times to New York and Hong Kong. In an interview with the Times, Joe Kahn, an international assistant masthead editor, said the changes were meant to ensure the future viability of the company’s international print product.

In 2013, the Times Co. rebranded the Paris-based International Herald Tribune, which it once co-owned with the Washington Post, as the International New York Times. According to the times, that paper will still continue to be printed and distributed in Europe.

News of structural and operational changes at the Times, including possible layoffs, has been circulating over the last few weeks. On Monday, the New York Post reported that Paris-based Times employees were bracing for bad news as they waited for a staff meeting to be held the next day.

Just two weeks ago, the Times announced a $50 million plan to expand its international digital operations, forming a new team called NYT Global.

News of the Paris layoffs is the latest in a series of warning signs for the European newspaper industry. In March, the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper said it planned to make significant cuts to its workforce amid year-over-year print revenue declines of 25 percent. A month earlier, the British newspaper the Independent said it was shuttering its print edition to become a digital-only publication.

Christopher Zara covers media and culture. News tips? Email me. Follow me on Twitter @christopherzara.