NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey’s largest newspaper has announced it is laying off 34 employees, the first large-scale layoffs in the paper’s history.

The Star-Ledger of Newark says 18 part- and full-time employees in the paper’s newsroom of 195 workers will lose their jobs.

In a letter posted in the paper’s offices Wednesday, Publisher Richard Vezza blamed the cuts on continuing financial pressures and the lingering effects of Superstorm Sandy.

Vezza says the newspaper has been talking with its production unions, whose contracts expire this summer, seeking significant savings in production costs.

He says The Star-Ledger is considering the possibility of outsourcing the printing and delivery of the newspaper.

Vezza says other papers owned by Advance Publications are also announcing layoffs.
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