New York Times cuts jobs: memo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The New York Times has frozen new hiring and has cut a small amount of newsroom jobs, according to a memo from Executive Editor Bill Keller to employees on Wednesday.

"This staff reduction does not include any journalists, nor any widespread buyouts, as has happened in the past," Keller wrote in the memo, which was obtained by Reuters. "We put into place a hiring freeze several week ago, and except for those jobs that are critically important to our future ambitions, we will be trying to fill their positions internally."

The Times is cutting about a dozen support positions and is trimming "a number of" clerical and secretarial jobs, according to the memo.

A Times spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

The paper also plans to "rethink" its coverage priorities and how it uses its space and people in 2008, Keller wrote.

(Reporting by Robert MacMillan; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)