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The New York Times Co. just announced it will be cutting roughly 500 jobs, including 250 at the Times, 160 at The Boston Globe, and the remainder at the company's other, small papers, its broadcast outlets, and on its corporate staff.

We can't help but wonder if John Tierney will be able to survive this massacre. Hell, we certainly haven't been able to read him today, so maybe he's already gone.

The complete "From Arthur and Janet" staff memo is after the jump.

To the Staff:

Today we are announcing staff reductions similar to those we announced in May. We anticipate that approximately 500 employees across the Company will be affected including 250 positions at The New York Times Media Group, 160 positions at The New England Media Group and the balance at our regional newspapers, our broadcast properties and our corporate staff. The Company expects to begin the reductions in October and complete it over the next six to nine months.

Given the continued financial challenges and the cloudy economic outlook for the remainder of the year, we believe it is prudent and necessary to initiate this additional reduction. We will be working through the bargaining issues with our unions and will observe all contractual obligations, including severance where applicable.

The Company plans to manage the staff reductions in such a way that we continue to provide our readers, users, listeners and viewers with journalism of the highest quality and that our operations function smoothly on a day-to-day basis. This will help ensure that we achieve our long-term strategic goals.

We regret that we will see many of our colleagues leave the Company; it is a painful process for all of us. We have been tested many times in our 154-year history as we are being tested now. We know that our collective talent and commitment will ensure our long-term success. Over the course of the past year we have taken many steps to improve the performance of our Company, including creating new products and services, acquiring and investing in existing and new businesses, and finding ways to lower costs. These are important steps that position us well to meet the challenges we face and we will continue to invest in our businesses as we move forward.

Arthur and Janet