Washington, Mar 27: The ongoing financial crisis seems to have hit the media industry in the United States hard. The New York Times Co. is cutting pay for most employees by five percent for a nine-month period and laying off 100 people.

The company’s flagship newspaper reported on its Web site on Thursday that the cuts will hit most non-union workers and run from April through December. Employees will receive 10 days off in return.

The Times reported that union employees have been asked to take the cut voluntarily to avoid potential layoffs at the company, CBS News reported.

Job cuts will come in the business operations of The New York Times, amounting to five percent of the total 2,000 workers in that part of the company.

The Washington Post also announced plans on Thursday for another round of buyouts as it seeks to cut costs.

It is the fourth round of buyouts at the newspaper since 2003. About 230 employees took the most recent buyout offered last year. The newsroom shrank in that round from about 800 workers to 700.

In a memo to employees, Publisher Katharine Weymouth said buyouts are needed because revenue is dropping. As is the case throughout the industry, increases in online advertising are not making up for losses on the print side.

The buyouts will also include the circulation departments and the newsroom, and a small number of advertising jobs and technology jobs.

Weymouth said layoffs are possible if too few people volunteer for the buyouts.

The Washington Post Co.''s newspaper division, which includes a few small papers in addition to the Post, brought in
800 million dollars in revenue last year, but that was a 10 percent drop from 2007 and as a whole the papers had about 25 million dollars in operating losses last year.

But The Washington Post Co. remained profitable because half its revenue comes from a business unrelated to journalism - its Kaplan education unit. (ANI)