The Charlotte Observer will cut 25 of 41 jobs in its ad design group...

“We would not have done this if we thought it would affect customers one bit.”

The Charlotte Observer will cut 25 of 41 jobs in its ad design group as it sends the work abroad, joining other large companies using foreign outsourcing to trim costs.

The newspaper has been testing outsourcing options for the work since last summer and chose Affinity Express, an Illinois company with facilities in the Philippines and India.

Employees, who have known layoffs were coming, received official notice today. They can apply for the 16 remaining jobs as artists, designers and 'traffic coordinators' working with their overseas counterparts. Some people also may take positions elsewhere at the paper, which has about 1,000 workers. Read more