New York Times to shut some Paris operations, cut jobs

By Jessica Toonkel (Reuters) - The New York Times Co said on Tuesday it would close its editing and pre-press print production operations in Paris, resulting in the elimination or relocation of up to 70 jobs as it moves to cut costs at its international newspaper. "To remain competitive, we need to adapt to a changing market," employees were told on Tuesday in a memo seen by Reuters. "We need to rethink what the print New York Times means to our international, frequently travelling readers in a world where they are getting their news primarily from digital sources." The New York Times news bureau and advertising department will not be affected, according to the memo. The changes are part of an effort to simplify the editing and production processes of the International New York Times, and roles involved with those operations will be moved to New York and Hong Kong, according to the memo. The company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it expected to incur about $15 million in costs related to the measures, with substantially all of the charges to be taken in the second quarter. (http://1.usa.gov/26rdHdy) The International New York Times evolved from the International Herald Tribune, which was once co-owned by the New York Times and the Washington Post. The New York Times, facing diminishing revenue from print advertising, has been trying to popularize its digital content through marketing and actions such as allowing subscribers to pay in local currencies. In October, it said it aimed to double its annual digital revenue to $800 million by 2020. (Reporting by Alan John Koshy in Bengaluru and Jessica Toonkel in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Toni Reinhold)