The Early Tally

Dark day so far. It began about 10 a.m., as predicted. Not a surprise, really. Management had empty ready-to-assemble boxes against the wall all week, for folks to pack their stuff into.

I won't name names, because it seems less than kind. But here's the tally so far:

1. About 40 total [UPDATE: Now about 60]
   
2. Sports hit the hardest. About 15 total, including good beat writers (one high-profile) and a columnar type.
3. Texas Living, Metro, Business, Editorial, and other departments all hit with about five layoffs.
4. My favorite Texas Living section, Discoveries, hit hard.
5. Still more to come.

Some newsroom reactions:

Highly paid former executives or department heads who'd recently been demoted into newly created cush jobs have all survived so far, which is upsetting lots of the rank-and-file staff who actually produce the paper. Several people have expressed surprise at the emotion they are feeling. It's hitting people very raw.

Another source:

I'd quit if i could. This is screwing with people's lives all for the sake of stockholders. I know that's how the real world works, but I thought this business would be different. Shows how stupid I am.