Employees at Montana’s largest newspaper chain say they’re seeing layoffs at papers across the state.
The union for newsroom employees of the Billings Gazette announced on April 7 that six of their members had been laid off by Lee Enterprises. In a statement, the Montana News Guild said they were “devastated” by the cuts.
The union criticized the layoffs and pointed at the earnings of Lee’s top executive officers, who are compensated over a million dollars a year and received a raise in 2022.
Lee Enterprises owns four other papers in Montana. On Monday morning, Missoulian sports reporter Lucas Semb announced on Twitter he’d been laid off.
Lee papers across the country reportedly cut 400 jobs in 2022, and the company announced in February that employees would be required to take unpaid furloughs or lower salaries.
A study by Pew Research found that newspaper newsroom employment fell by 57% from 2008 to 2020.
Lee Enterprises could not be reached for comment.
