New York - The two most prestigious newspapers in the United States both announced job cuts Thursday in a dramatic sign of how the recession and the rise of the internet is eroding the newspaper industry.

The New York Times said it was eliminating 100 positions and lowering the salaries of all non-union employees by 5 per cent for the rest of the year, due to sharply declining revenues. All the job cuts are administrative, but the company warned that it would be forced to eliminate newsroom positions if the union did not agree to similar pay cuts.

"This was a very difficult decision to make," said a memo signed by New York Times Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr and chief executive Janet Robinson. "The environment we are in is the toughest we have seen in our years in business."

The Washington Post did not specify the number of planned job cuts. But the paper said that would offer an unspecified number of buyouts to employees over 50 who had worked for the company for more than five years.

The targeted departments include the newsroom, the production and circulation departments, and a small number of positions in the advertising and information technology departments. The buyout offer was the fourth such action at the Washington Post since 2003. (dpa)