And They're Off: Chronicle Commences its Latest Round of Layoffs

​After the San Francisco Chonicle's management last week told the Media Workers Guild it was in a layoffy mood, everyone was left to ponder all the big journalistic questions: Who? When? How many?

If you picked Monday, Aug. 31 in your layoff pool -- congratulations. The Chron started -- but did not finish -- its latest round of attrition by sending off a quartet of union workers from its classified sales staff yesterday afternoon. Guild representative Carl T. Hall said he expects more layoffs to come in all newspaper departments -- including the newsroom -- after Labor Day. He doesn't anticipate any more departures this week, and hopes to have a more solid notion of how many people are slated to go within the next several days.

"These were some senior people who really contributed to the Chronicle for a long time," Hall said of the laid off workers. "Piece by piece, the company is outsourcing ... It's sad to see loyal, hard-working people go."