Kansas City Star offers buyouts to employees

The Kansas City Star has announced another round of employee buyouts:

The Star reported on its Web site Monday that its voluntary offer has two options: two weeks of base pay for every service year with a 26-week cap and three months of medical benefits, and as much as 24 weeks of base pay with a year of medical benefits.

Star Publisher Mark Zieman couldn’t be reached for comment.

In a Monday e-mail to employees, Zieman said the newspaper will start offering the buyouts immediately “to the majority of regular, full-time employees.”

“We are making this offer because the economic downturn shows no signs of easing, and because many employees have expressed interest in a voluntary program if the paper needed to consider further restructuring,” Zieman wrote in the e-mail. “While we all hope for better days ahead, it’s best to take action now to help ensure it. That has always been The Star way. So we will use the rest of 2008 to explore every option to successfully navigate the current recession — and also to position our company for long-term success in the digital age. Every part of our company is being analyzed as we continue to transition to this new business model.”