McClatchy Newspapers Skip Payment to Pensioners

The McClatchy Co., the newspaper publisher that’s teetering near bankruptcy, skipped a payment to some of its pensioners, according to Bloomberg.

The company will not be releasing funds to a “small number” of participants in its Supplemental Executive Retirement Benefits plan as it addresses its long-term liquidity pressures, McClatchy said in a statement Thursday. The company faces a mandatory $124 million contribution to its pension plan in 2020.

“This decision is not taken lightly, but at a time when the company is actively negotiating the future of the qualified pension plan, it would be inconsistent with our culture to continue payments on the non-qualified plans,” Chief Financial Officer Elaine Lintecum said in the statement.

In its third-quarter earnings release, McClatchy said the pension contribution created “a significant liquidity challenge in 2020.” It also warned in regulatory documents that it may not be able to continue as a going concern.

The Sacramento, California-based company operates 29 newspapers including the Miami Herald, The Charlotte Observer and The Kansas City Star. Other large newspaper companies are also in turmoil, with tens of thousands of newsroom jobs cut over the past decade.

S&P Global Ratings forecast a grim 2020 for McClatchy, warning in November that the company doesn’t have enough money to pay its 2020 obligations.