The New York State Department of Labor's WARN system, which requires employers to provide 90 days' notice of layoffs, has a filing from the Oneida Daily Dispatch announcing that 17 workers will be laid off from the newspaper on March 22.
The Dispatch, which serves the Mohawk Valley region, is owned by the Journal Register Company, which also owns the Hudson Valley's Daily Freeman.
According to the filing, the Dispatch employs 31 full time and 16 part time employees, which means the layoffs will reduce its staff by close to half. The paper cites economic reasons for the layoffs.
5:30pm update: In an article last week, the Dispatch announced the reason for the layoffs. In a move parallel to one that the Freeman made in December, the Dispatch is outsourcing its printing work and closing its printing press and mailroom:
Closing the pressroom and mailroom in Oneida will result in the elimination of 4 full-time and 13 part-time positions. Moving distribution will result in 26 independent contractors losing their newspaper delivery routes.
