Times Aims to Cut Costs, Offers Early Retirement

The Los Angeles Times said Monday that it will offer a voluntary early retirement program to eligible employees, augmenting a cost-containment program designed to bolster profitability.

The temporary program will be offered companywide to employees age 55 or older who have at least 10 consecutive years of service with The Times. The plan provides increased benefits by adding five years to age, up to 65, and five years added to pension benefit service. The program also includes extended medical and dental coverage. The Times, which employs 6,000 people on a full-time basis, said a maximum of 300 eligible employees will be allowed to retire under the program.

The Times, which is owned by Times Mirror Co., has had a virtual hiring freeze throughout 1991. The early retirement plan is part of a cost-cutting program designed to keep The Times on sound financial ground during the recession, said David Laventhol, Times publisher and chief executive.

“This program should result in additional savings, and is consistent with our emphasis on reducing staffing levels through voluntary means,” Laventhol said.

Early retirement is part of a wider trend in the economy as companies seek to reduce costs during the recession, said Paul Wayne, research director at Crowell, Weedon & Co., a Los Angeles-based brokerage. “This is a logical step considering the current economic conditions,” Wayne said.

The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe are among newspapers that recently have offered early retirement programs.