Toronto Star Offering Employees Voluntary Separation Special

On Tuesday afternoon employees of the Toronto Star received a memo from Star publisher John Cruickshank about a restructuring plan that includes voluntary employee separation.

The "Voluntary Separation Program" that has been laid out for the employees offers up to 85 weeks of severance pay at a rate of three weeks per year. This offer is for both the Union and non-Union employees Toronto Star spokesman Bob Hepburn explained to me during a telephone interview. "The memo was sent after discussion with the Union," Hepburn said this afternoon, "The program is open for all Star employees, both Union and non-Union." Employees have until November 30 to sign up for the program. There is not a target number for the employees at this time according to Hepburn. The Union has been informed that after November 30 the Star will be seriously exploring outsourcing of some of its departments. The departments that are under serious consideration for outsourcing are segments of the editorial department and the pre-publishing department. The ad building section of the pre-publishing department will also be an area where the company is exploring out sourcing. "At this stage The Toronto Star is exploring their possibilities," Hepburn said.