MaineToday Media's new owner may not rehire all employees
An internal memo from MaineToday Media CEO Lisa DeSisto, obtained by Mainebiz, indicates that the company’s prospective owner may not rehire all of its employees.
“The new owners will be extending offers of employment to the employees they are interested in hiring,” DeSisto wrote in an email to the company’s employees that was sent Wednesday at 10:23 a.m. “... If a current employee is not offered a position with the new company, he/she will also be notified and will be entitled to severance payments under the existing contract.”
The email, which was provided to Mainebiz, outlines some details of the company’s transition process, but does not indicate how many employees will be rehired. DeSisto said in her email that each job offer “will include pay rate, benefits, a job description and will be emailed on May 22.” From that date, “employees will have seven days to review, sign and return,” she added.
Further, DeSisto said in her email that “there will be NO (sic) change to healthcare benefit including the 80% the company pays toward the premium.”
MaineToday Media, which owns the Portland Press Herald, Morning Sentinel, Kennebec Journal and The Coastal Journal, announced last week that Maine financier and philanthropist S. Donald Sussman is selling the company to Camden media executive Reade Brower.
The sale is expected to close June 1.
Brower, who owns four coastal newspapers and a TV station, has previously said that he did not plan any major leadership changes or layoffs.
"My history is not cut, slash, or burn," he told the Press Herald last week. "Rather it is to invest and ask associates to do what is best for the team."
This story will be updated. It has been updated to clarify that the sale of MaineToday Media to Camden media executive Reade Brower is pending.
The internal email from MaineToday Media's CEO is included below:
From: Lisa DeSisto
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2015 10:23 AM
To: mtm-companyfull
Subject: Update on transition process
Good morning -
We have finalized some of the details on the transition process and wanted to communicate the approach.
The new owners will be extending offers of employment to the employees they are interested in hiring. There will not be a formal one-on-one interview process. Each offer will include pay rate, benefits, a job description, and will be emailed (or mailed to employees who don’t have a company email address) on May 22nd, 2015. Employees will have 7 days to review, sign and return. If a current employee is not offered a position with the new company, he/she will also be notified and will be entitled to severance payments under the existing contract.
We realize there is concern about the company benefits program. We were informed there will be NO change to healthcare benefit including the 80% the company pays toward the premium.
We will continue to share more details as they become available.
Lisa
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