Channel 4 owner blames economy for layoffs

A spokeswoman for a company that owns local ABC affiliate Channel 4 and KUCW Channel 30 said the decision to lay off 27 full- and part-time employees of the stations this week was due in part to the declining national economy.

"This was a difficult but necessary step to ensure that each station has the right team to compete over the long-term," said the spokeswoman for Newport Television LLC, based in Kansas City, Mo.

Channel 4 had been owned by Clear Channel Communications but was sold with Clear Channel's other television stations to Newport Television in April. The spokeswoman, who declined to be named, said that the company had planned to restructure when it bought the Clear Channel stations.

After the layoffs of the 27 employees, the two stations have 155 full-time equivalents.