Los Angeles Times to cut 300 jobs in latest round

NEW YORK Jan 30 (Reuters) - Tribune Co's Los Angeles Times said on Friday it would cut up to 300 jobs and get rid of a separate section devoted to its home state of California, in its latest round of cost cutting actions.

U.S. newspapers have announced thousands of layoffs and buyouts as they try to counter advertising losses and position themselves to pay looming debt.

A company spokeswoman was not available to say how many people work at the Times.

The Times, the fourth-largest U.S. newspaper, will lose 70 news positions, or about 11 percent of its news staff, Editor Russ Stanton wrote in a memo posted on the Times's website.

Tribune has reduced its news staff from a high of about 1,200 in 2000. Last October, the Times said it would cut 75 newsroom jobs. In July, it cut 250 jobs, including 150 in the newsroom.

Several editors-in-chief and publishers in recent years have balked at making the cuts and resigned under pressure from Tribune. The current Los Angeles Times publisher is former DirecTV (DTV.O) Chief Executive Eddy Hartenstein.

Other Tribune papers including The Sun in Baltimore and the Chicago Tribune are also being squeezed.

Bankrupt Tribune Co went private in a deal led by real estate tycoon Sam Zell and has been trying to pay off some $13 billion in debt. It has named a winning bidder to buy the Chicago Cubs baseball team for $900 million, and has sold other papers and properties.

The Los Angeles Times will incorporate its daily California news section into the main news section in March. (Reporting by Robert MacMillan)