Boston Globe agrees to salary and benefit cuts

Staff at Boston Globe newspaper said they have agreed to a package of salary and benefit cuts, as the newspaper gropes for multi-million-dollar savings to stay afloat. The Globe's owners, The New York Times Co, had asked workers to accept concessions in pay, benefits and job security as it looks to limit loses and find a buyer for the New England daily. "Boston Newspaper Guild members have spoken and, after careful consideration, voted to accept the tentative agreement put forward by The New York Times Co," said a statement for the union's president Dan Totten. The guild reported 366 votes in favour of the plan to 179 votes against, paving the way for the Globe to trim some of its loses, earlier projected to reach $85 million (Dh311.9m) this year. The New York Times reported the deal could spell savings of up to $10m a year. A deadline for the sale of the paper was pushed backed until after yesterday's vote, which The Times Company hopes will sweeten the deal for potential buyers, most notably the Worcester Telegram and Gazette , which has expressed interest. The Times Co. bought the Boston Globe for $1.1 billion in 1993 but the value of the newspaper has plummeted since then along with the fortunes of the United States' newspaper industry. Like other US newspapers, the Globe has been grappling with a steep drop in print advertising revenue, steadily declining circulation and the migration of readers to free news online. The Times Company said in March it would close the newspaper if it could not agree to $20m in savings. The publisher has cut jobs and combined sections at the Globe , which it said may lose $85m this year. In the last quarter of 2008 and the first of 2009, the Globe lost 14 per cent of its average weekday circulation from the year-earlier period, compared with a drop of 7.1 per cent across the industry. Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the Emirates Business 24|7 daily newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here .