The Washington City Paper’s employees are getting wage reductions as its hedge fund owner attempts to sell a sister publication in Chicago, and currently, its D.C. publication and another in Atlanta. The employees at the Chicago Reader and Creative Loafing Atlanta, both also owned by New York based Atalaya Capital Management, will also see wage reductions. The owner plans to cut jobs at those publications, although employees at the Washington City paper will escape layoffs.
Amy Austin, publisher at the Washington City Paper, told employees on Wednesday that the 5 percent wage reductions will take effect on Friday. Atalaya is looking to sell all three papers now, not just the Chicago Reader, according to Washington City Paper executives Alison Draper and Tammy Bailey. The City Paper sent out a memo to their employees regarding the announcement. “The properties have had an increased number of inquiries from potential suitors [and]our owners have expressed interest in exploring these opportunities. We believe this provides an opportunity for our properties to align with a new owner who understands the legacy of our brands,” the memo said. Although, there have been no announced layoffs, some employees were cut back to part-time, the City Paper reported. “The news should have come as no surprise: Upon bringing the papers out of bankruptcy in 2009, the fund made clear that it was not in the business of running media organizations over the long term,” the City Paper said.
