Update: Chicago staff cuts

The plan in Chicago, according to Chicago Tribune's publisher Scott Smith, is to achieve savings through — among other ways — reduced overtime and reduced staffing by "up to 100 employees across all departments".

Looks like the separation packages and deadlines are the same as in LA.

We noted that his memo included the use of a term we recognize from Kotter' s "Leading for Change": "Thanks for your commitment to solve our challenges, both near term and longer term. To do so will require great talent, teamwork and a tremendous sense of urgency to act and achieve for the benefit of all we serve."

We hope the urgency isn't so much so that folks aren't given significant time to review the professional and financial impact of – in some cases – one of the most life-altering decisions of their lives.

(end of post)