NYDaily News To Cut Union Staffers

The New York Daily News is laying off 28% of its unionized staff, including more than half of its national desk, the paper's union announced Friday.

The NewsGuild of New York and the Daily News Union learned of the cuts via an email from owner Alden Global Capital, a hedge fund notorious for aggressive cost-cutting in its newspaper holdings. The reductions will eliminate six of the 10 national desk positions and heavily affect the print production team.

Alden-owned Tribune Publishing, which oversees the Daily News and other papers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

"This latest move by Alden Global Capital to gut the staff of the New York Daily News, our city’s hometown newspaper, is another sad reminder that the hedge fund and its owners have no interest in investing in local journalism, but instead want only to squeeze the paper and its staff dry in order to enrich themselves," said Michael Sheridan, unit chair for the Daily News Union.

The layoffs follow just three months after the union secured its first contract with Alden in late 2025, ending a contentious three-year battle that featured prior mass layoffs, a no-confidence vote against the executive editor, and a 24-hour staff walkout. Alden acquired the paper through its 2021 purchase of Tribune Publishing.

The union condemned Alden's ongoing approach, stating: “Alden and Daily News management have consistently, throughout our existence as a union, tried to ignore the fact that they have a unionized work force. We’re not going away.”