Times Co. Says Globe Closure No Longer Necessary

The Boston Globe's parent company, The New York Times Co., says it no longer foresees closing the newspaper, now that it is implementing a severe pay cut for employees in its largest union and has negotiated concessions from other unions.

The Times said Tuesday it would now focus on "executing the Globe's turnaround plan."

The company will cut the pay of Boston Newspaper Guild members by 23 percent, after the union narrowly rejected a contract proposal that would have achieved the $10 million in savings demanded by the Times through an 8.3 percent pay cut, five-day unpaid furloughs and other concessions.

Globe reporter Scott Allen said the pay cut is forcing Guild members to face tough choices. "People today are talking about their 401(k)," he said. "You know, 'Should I pull all my money out of my retirement contribution to cover this fairly catastrophic cut in pay that's coming?'

"Or, people are talking about, 'Well, what about college for my kids this fall? Do I need to take out more loans? Does my child have to, like, wait and go in the winter semester instead?' "

Tuesday evening, the Boston Newspaper Guild meets to discuss its plan to try to delay or prevent the Times from implementing the pay cut.

Allen said he hoped the union and the company go back to the table.

"There appears to be a window right now before the pay cut has been imposed and before feelings start to harden and people start to go into financial distress, for the two sides to sit down and work out a reasonable deal," he said.

In a letter to Globe employees, publisher Steve Ainsley said the pay cut is not the preferred route to saving $10 million, but he must do it to safeguard the institution.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.