Publisher Freezes 401(k) Match

Newspaper publisher and broadcast operator Media General Inc. will freeze 401(k) plan matching contributions starting April 1, with the freeze continuing through at least December 31, the company announced this week.

The Richmond, Virginia-based company, which publishes 24 daily newspapers and owns and operates 19 network-affiliated television stations, had been matching 100 percent of employees’ salary deferrals, up to the first 5 percent of pay.

The freeze comes as revenue and profit have slid. For the nine-month period ending September 30, revenue declined to $593 million, down from $663.8 million during the comparable period a year earlier, while it reported a net loss, excluding certain one-time events, of $3.5 million, compared with net income of $1.1 million the prior year.

Filed by Jerry Geisel of Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, e-mail editors@workforce.com.

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