Minnesota Star Tribune Cutting 15 Percent Of Jobs, Exploring New Ownership Model

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The Minnesota Star Tribune is cutting 65 jobs and exploring a new nonprofit ownership structure, according to a report published by the newspaper Wednesday.

The cuts represent about 15 percent of the Star Tribune’s workforce and will come through buyouts and layoffs, the newspaper reported.

The Star Tribune employs about 495 people. Its newsroom has just under 200 journalists and is expected to drop to about 175, according to the report.

The cuts come about a month after the Star Tribune won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Annunciation Church and School shooting.

Chief Executive Steve Grove said in a company memo that the Star Tribune is working to adapt to the digital media landscape.

The newspaper, which is privately owned by Glen Taylor, also reported that Taylor and the company’s board are pursuing a foundation ownership structure.

The model would be similar to the Philadelphia Inquirer, which operates as a for-profit media company owned by a nonprofit foundation.

Taylor bought the Star Tribune in 2014.

The Star Tribune said the cuts will be made across departments, though reporters, photographers, and videographers are the only newsroom employees specifically protected from cuts.

Jeff Day, a reporter and co-chair of the Star Tribune’s guild, told the newspaper that the union would look for ways to fight the decision.

The cuts come after the company last year saw 159 job losses tied to the closure of its Heritage Print Facility in Minneapolis.

The closure ended the Star Tribune’s 158-year run of local printing, as production shifted to a Gannett-owned facility in Des Moines, Iowa.