The New York Times plans to cut 100 newsroom jobs, about 8 percent of its staff, by end of this year, according to a report available Monday on its website.

File photo taken on March 10, 2009 shows people walking past the New York Times headquarters building in New York. The New York Times on Monday announced on its website that it plans to cut 100 jobs from its news room, about 8 percent of its news staff, by the end of the year (XINHUA)

The newspaper will offer buyouts to staff who voluntarily leave the company, and it will lay off others if there are not enough volunteers, Executive Editor Bill Keller said in an e-mail to his staff. Employees will have 45 days to apply for a buyout.

The Times erased 100 newsroom jobs in the spring of 2008, while other jobs were created so that the net reduction was smaller, says the report. About 15 to 20 journalists lost their jobs in that round of cuts, which was the first time in memory that had happened.

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady" -- named for its staid appearance and style -- is regarded as a national newspaper of record.

The paper has, for several times, laid off employees in other, non-newsroom departments. But the advertising drop that has pummeled the industry has forced cuts in the news operation as well, says the report.

Nearly all papers in New York metropolitan area have been cutting their news operations for years, and some have fewer than half as many people in their newsrooms as they did in 2000.

News department employment of New York Times rose to an all-time high of 1,332 positions in February 2008 before the paper began to trim its staff. The paper employs 1,250 people in its news department, making it by far the largest newspaper staff in the United States. No other American newspaper has more than about750.

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2009)