Schenectady

The Daily Gazette has laid off 10 workers, including five inside the newsroom, according to a source at the paper.

Neither Gazette General Manager Daniel Beck nor Editor Judy Patrick returned calls and emails left for comment Thursday. The cuts continue a trend of downsizing in recent years at the family-owned newspaper.

May 2, 2013

Memorandum

To: All Gazette Employees and Agents

From: Daniel T. Beck

Re: Building Vandalism – New Work Rules

As you are probably aware, The Gazette has been experiencing ongoing problems with blocked drains throughout our building. Unfortunately, it has been proven to us that these plumbing problems and other acts of vandalism to company property are being perpetrated by our own Gazette employee(s). They occur during evenings, early morning hours and weekends. Repairs and replacement of destroyed property has run into the thousands of dollars. Further, these criminal acts also threaten the health and safety of fellow employees. They cannot and will not be tolerated.

In response, The Gazette will impose the following work rules during weekday evenings and on weekends. Employees are not to leave their designated work areas before, during or after their shifts. Employees are to use the bathrooms associated with their designated work areas and not others in different parts of the building. The Gazette will also install additional video surveillance cameras throughout the building. If you need to leave your work area as part of your duties, check with your supervisor, who will escort you or will make other provisions. Failure to comply with the above rules will be considered cause for disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment. Any employee found to be vandalizing or destroying company property will be immediately terminated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extend of the law with restitution of damages sought.

Additionally, a $1,000 reward will be paid to anyone who supplies The Gazette with information that leads to the successful conviction of guilty individual(s). It saddens me to think that a fellow employee would feel compelled to damage company property and inconvenience fellow workers and compromise their health and safety. I apologize for the necessity of imposing the above rules and any inconvenience they may cause but we cannot allow this to continue.

Thank you.