Employees of The Des Moines Register must take a mandatory one-week furlough during the first quarter of 2010, according to a memo sent to staff by Register Publisher and President Laura Hollingsworth and obtained by the Iowa Independent.

The furloughs were ordered by the Register’s parent company, Gannett Co. Inc. They will also impact staff at the company’s other newspapers around the country.

“Though our company is in a stronger position than a year ago and much progress has been made, such as paying down over $500 million in debt this year and consolidations and restructuring that have created greater efficiencies, the furloughs remain a prudent measure early in 2010 to manage costs while we look for more permanent signs of recovery,” Hollingsworth said in the memo to staff. “We hope that there will be no need for future furloughs, but of course that remains dependent on business conditions and the economic climate.”

The move marks the third time Gannett a furlough program.

Below is the memo sent out by Hollingsworth as well as a memo sent out by Bob Dickey, president of Gannett’s US Community Publishing Division.

From: Laura Hollingsworth

Date: 12/1/09

All:

The attached memo from USCP division president Robert Dickey is the announcement of a First Quarter, 2010 one payroll week furlough plan for Corporate and USCP division employees. This announcement impacts all Des Moines Register and subsidiary employees, so I ask that you read it immediately.

In his memo, Bob explains the decision to plan for a first quarter furlough as the best way to steer us out of the lingering effects of the recession and position us for growth as the economy recovers. He speaks to seeing encouraging signs in our business and our industry. We are seeing those same encouraging signs here at our local properties, so that is good news. Advertising declines have been slowing through the year and we will post a much stronger period 11, our best all year. Local retailers and advertisers in several categories are expressing some optimism.

Still, the business climate remains highly uncertain–for us here in Iowa, and across the country. Though our company is in a stronger position than a year ago and much progress has been made, such as paying down over $500 million in debt this year and consolidations and restructuring that have created greater efficiencies, the furloughs remain a prudent measure early in 2010 to manage costs while we look for more permanent signs of recovery. We hope that there will be no need for future furloughs, but of course that remains dependent on business conditions and the economic climate.

All local furloughs must be completed in the first quarter and by Sunday, March 28th. Today’s announcement of the plan allows each of us proper planning time, both personally and professionally.

I understand the sacrifice and hardship this brings for our employees and families, and I join Bob in stating that it is not something any of us take lightly. Like every day, I greatly appreciate all your hard work and your commitment to the Register and our company.

If you have any questions or thoughts please feel free to direct them to your department executive, or certainly to me. You are also welcome to contact Bob Dickey, USCP Division President via email. LH

The memo from Dickey:

December 1, 2009

To: All US Community Publishing employees

From: Bob Dickey

We are just completing the preliminary budgets for 2010. Thanks to all of your hard work and efforts to keep our costs down this year and create greater efficiencies across the division, we are heading into the new year with some solid improvements under our belt. We have seen some promising trends in advertising with ad declines slowing throughout the year and as we begin the holiday shopping season, we are also seeing some indication that retailers may be spending more on advertising.

While these trends are encouraging, the overall economy is still fragile with a number of business uncertainties. Therefore, as we head into 2010, we think it is prudent to take a conservative approach toward managing our business. Toward that end, we have decided to implement furloughs across USCP during the first quarter. This is not a companywide initiative though Corporate and some of Gannett’s other operations have also decided to put furloughs into place during the first quarter. No one on the Gannett Management Committee makes these decisions lightly and we understand and appreciate the difficulties furloughs have placed on many of you and your families. The furloughs we took companywide this year, however, saved Gannett a significant amount of money and helped us get through what has been unquestionably the toughest time we have ever faced as a company and division.

We are instituting the furloughs during the first quarter because it is traditionally the lightest time of the year for us. Non-union USCP employees, including me, will be furloughed for five business days during the quarter. We will be communicating separately with union representatives and asking for their support of the furloughs. However, those union-represented employees who recently negotiated pay reductions in their contracts will not be furloughed.

Exempt, salaried employees must take one full payroll week within the pay period, to be completed by Sunday, March 28. Non-exempt, hourly employees will also take five days at any pre-approved time, before the last weekend in March. If you are not sure which category you are in, check with your Human Resources representative or supervisor. The attached FAQ should answer any questions you may have.

I cannot stress enough how much the entire leadership of USCP and Gannett appreciate your hard work and many accomplishments which have helped us maintain the industry standard for excellence and leadership in many areas during extraordinarily difficult times. Our community publishing business is doing better and, with the organizational changes we have made throughout the year, well positioned to meet any challenges ahead and to lead us forward as the economy recovers. You’ve done a great job getting us through this year and I thank you for your work and commitment to our division and to Gannett. As always, please feel free to email me with any questions or ideas about our business.

Regards,

Bob