Eastern Pennsylvania newspaper cuts 52 jobs

READING — The publisher of the Reading Eagle says the newspaper company has laid off 52 workers.

Reading Eagle Company publisher William Flippin says the layoffs are necessary for the future of the family-owned company as the newspaper industry struggles in a down economy.

Flippin says "We needed to take this action to have a chance to survive."

The layoffs amount to about 12 percent of the company's work force. The affected departments were not immediately clear Friday.

The Reading Eagle has published since 1868 and has a daily circulation of about 60,000 and about 80,000 on Sunday.