Reuters (NASDAQ:RTRSY)
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Statement of Newspaper Guild of New York President Barry Lipton
on Reuters Group Plc Financial Results for 2004
NEW YORK, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- "Reuters (LSE:RTR)(NASDAQ:RTRSY) today said
its 2004 operating profits jumped 52 percent to $373 million (198 million
British pounds), while revenues fell 11 percent to $5.435 billion (2.885
billion pounds) in a continuation of a slide that began in late 2001. The
company's profitability is the product of asset sales and a short-sighted
strategy of attacking its workers. Thousands of employees have been let go and
many of those who remain have had their compensation cut, just as management
wants to do to our members. All the while, cash compensation has increased for
Reuters CEO Tom Glocer and other top executives, who have been trying to
convince investors and clients that the quality of the of the company's
services will not diminish even as they try to squeeze the life out of the
workforce that produces them. In addition, company managers are engaged in a
reckless experiment in remote control journalism. They are trying to cover Wall
Street from Bangalore, India, and plan to issue captions for all global
pictures, including those of American sports and politics, from Singapore. At
the very least, these moves threaten the quality of journalism for which
Reuters is known and in which our members take great pride. Our members are
resisting the assault on their compensation. They are currently voting on
whether to authorize the union's leadership to call a strike if and when it is
deemed necessary. We will know the results of the vote by the end of the week.
The way to reverse the decline in revenues and restore the company to enduring
financial health, rather than to a short-term profit spurt, is to value and
build on its reputation for quality and to cultivate a committed workforce by
treating employees with dignity."
The Newspaper Guild of New York, Local 31003 of the Communications Workers of
America, represents nearly 500 U.S. employees, including print, photo and
television journalists and technical personnel, at Reuters America LLC, the
main U.S. operating subsidiary of Reuters Group Plc.
DATASOURCE: Newspaper Guild of New York
CONTACT: Barry Lipton of the Newspaper Guild of New York,
+1-212-730-1546