Dispatch Printing Company has offered voluntary buyouts

The Columbus Dispatch Printing Company has offered buyouts for up to 25 employees in its news-gathering division in an effort to reduce costs. The voluntary program, announced yesterday, would help bring expenses from the news-gathering operations in line with revenues. Newspapers across the country have been grappling with slipping advertising revenue, driven by slowness in the real-estate and automotive sectors as well as retail consolidation. The company expects the buyouts to be completed by May. There are 236 staff members in the Dispatch newsroom.