Twenty-five employees at Newfoundland and Labrador newspapers who received temporary layoffs in March will not be returning to work.

The SaltWire Network, which owns several local papers including the Telegram and Western Star, gave notice Tuesday afternoon that 109 positions across Atlantic Canada have been terminated.

SaltWire COO Ian Scott says the company has lost millions of dollars in advertising revenue since the start of the pandemic, without improvement to be expected in the coming months. The layoffs affect employees from all areas of the business.

In March, nearly 40 per cent of SaltWire’s staff received temporary layoffs, and operations at some publications were put on hold to alleviate strain on the company’s resources. While some of those employees will return to work, many will not.

SaltWire indicates that it is working on plans to see as many staff members return to work as possible.