Newspaper and publishing conglomerate Gannett (GCI) will institute one week of unpaid furloughs for the bulk of its newspaper employees, FOX Business has learned, along with layoffs at USA Today.

The furloughs, announced to Gannett newspaper employees on Tuesday, will be taken in the first quarter of 2010, the company said. The furloughs are for Gannett's community newspaper and digital divisions, but will not include the company's broadcast division.

Gannett property USA Today will also be subject to cost-cutting measures, with the national newspaper cutting 26 newsroom positions over the next couple days. The layoffs will be across all the newspaper's sections, company officials said.

This is the second time that Gannett has instituted furloughs in this economic downturn, the first time being at the beginning of this year when it instituted a company-wide furlough program. The company had a wave of layoffs across its community newspapers over the summer.

Newspapers, which had already been a long-term downturn, took a turn for the worse in this recession, with media conglomerates like Freedom Communications and Tribune Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The New York Times Co. (NYT) currently is undergoing a buyout program for 100 employees and said if it doesn't get enough participation, layoffs will be necessary.

However, many newspaper stocks have rebounded sharply since the March lows as companies like Gannett have said they believe the bottom in the newspaper advertising market has occurred and a recovery is underway.

Robin Pence, a Gannett spokeswoman, said the company is being “proactive in managing their business” in the wake of a still-uncertain economic environment. 

Shares of Gannett are up 1.2% on Tuesday to $10.01. They are up 25.9% so far this year and up 355% from their March lows.