In response to “significant” planned layoffs, unionized staffers at the Los Angeles Times are launching a one-day strike on Friday. The walkout — which the Los Angeles Times Guild is calling the first newsroom union strike in the paper’s history — is taking place in response to layoffs that management announced on Thursday as a means of reducing the paper’s 2024 budget. Timed to the walkout, the union will be holding a “Rally to Save Local Journalism” in downtown Los Angeles at the Gloria Molina Grand Park on Friday at noon. In a comment, a Los Angeles Times spokesperson said, “The Los Angeles Times has not missed a day of publishing in 142 years and we will be publishing tomorrow. Times management then informed the newsroom of the planned layoffs on Thursday.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 19, 2024 03:30 UTC