Tuesday, October 20, 2009
NATION
Toys ‘R’ Us adds layaway for larger-ticket items
NEW YORK — Toys ‘R’ Us Inc. is introducing a layaway program for larger-ticket items such as bikes and cribs ahead of the holiday season, the company said Monday.
The largest U.S. toy retailer said the program is effective immediately in stores nationwide. Customers can put a variety of items on hold and make a series of payments until the item is paid in full.
Layaway programs are financing agreements in which retailers — without charging interest — hold merchandise for customers until they have finished paying in installments.
Customers putting a product on layaway must deposit 20 percent of the item’s price, all applicable taxes and a $10 service charge.
New York Times plans newsroom, other job cuts
NEW YORK — The New York Times said Monday it will cut 100 newsroom jobs and an unspecified number elsewhere amid industrywide declines in advertising revenue.
The Times will offer voluntary buyouts at first but will resort to layoffs if it cannot meet the targets.
The Times, flagship of The New York Times Co., cut its newsroom work force by 100 positions last year mostly through buyouts, but Executive Editor Bill Keller said then that the newspaper had to make a “relatively small” number of involuntary cuts to meet that target.
Even with the latest cuts, amounting to 8 percent of the newsroom staff, the Times has the largest news-gathering staff of any U.S. newspaper. The cuts would leave the newsroom with about 1,150 reporters and editors.
Associated Press