Boston Globe safe, Times executives say

NEW YORK, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Two top executives at the New York Times Co. said its Boston Globe newspaper had wrung enough concessions from labor to ensure its survival.

Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Chief Executive Officer Janet Robinson said the concessions won from unions earlier this summer had allowed the Times to retreat from having to sell the venerable 137-year-old Boston daily.

The Times confirmed it had hired Goldman Sachs & Co. to explore possibly selling the Globe.

"We are exploring that (selling) as a possibility. It does not mean it will absolutely be the case,'' Sulzberger said.

"What's important here is that the Globe be maintained as a viable business entity … We're committed to that," he said.

Times Co. management threatened to close the Globe if it did not find operational cost cuts of $20 million, which lead to renegotiating a series of union contracts.

The threat was real, Robinson said. "It wasn't a bluff."