The number of staff at The Irish Times who have so far applied for the voluntary severance package on offer has reached 130, the company said yesterday. This is in addition to more than 40 short-term contract and freelance staff who were given notice earlier this year.
The company is seeking annual savings of more than €22 million in order to balance its books in the face of rising costs and a decline in advertising revenue.
It announced last November that it was seeking to save €12.7 million through 250 job losses, representing more than a third of the staff. The remaining savings of €9.5 million were to come from the non-payroll budget.
Earlier this month staff voted overwhelmingly in favour of a voluntary severance package offering five weeks' pay for each year of service, and also approved major restructuring plans for each division of the company. The restructuring is due to be completed by July.
Take-up of the severance package, which is due to remain open until July, has already reached the required level in the commercial division, and is close to the target number in the administration division.
But there is currently a shortfall in the required take-up among editorial staff, where only 44 people applied for the package.
Last November the company announced it was facing losses of €17.9 million this year unless costs were reduced.
Unions have accepted the need for job losses, but insist they must be voluntary.