In the latest sign for how even the nation's largest newspapers are struggling to fight plunging ad sales, The New York Times Company (NYT) announced plans Thursday to cut salaries by 5% and reportedly plans to lay off about 100 workers.

The company also plans to ask for a 5% pay cut from its unionized employees and lay off about 5% of its 2,000 employees on the business side, The Wall Street Journal reported. If the union signs off on the pay cuts, the Times newsroom will stay intact for now, the Journal reported. 

"This was a very difficult decision to make," Chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr and CEO Janet Robinson said in a memo to employees, according to the Journal. "The environment we are in is the toughest we have seen in our years in business."

In a separate statement, the Newspaper Guild of New York said the Times informed the guild it is conducting a layoff Thursday that will affect fewer than 15 union workers. The company cited the "continuing severe slump in advertising sales" as the reason for the layoffs, which don't include newsroom workers, the guild said. 

In a regulatory filing, the Times said it plans to cut the base salary of executives and nonunion employees at the New York Times Media Group, which includes the company's namesake paper. The exception will be the International Herald Tribune. 

The Boston Globe, Boston.com and corporate workers at its New York headquarters will also see their salaries cut, the company said. In return, the employees and execs will receive an additional ten days of vacation before the end of the year. 

At the same time, the New York Times Co. said it plans to cut the salaries of workers at its About Group, Worcester Telegram & Gazette and other units by 2.5%, in exchange for an additional five days of vacation. 

The new cost-cutting moves come on the same day that the Washington Post Co. (WPO), the publisher of the Washington Post, expanded its buyout measures to fight falling ad revenue. Unlike the measures taken Thursday by the Times, the Posts's buyouts will be extended to the newsroom, production and circulation staff and could result in layoffs if targets aren't met, the Journal reported.

Countless newspapers, including the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Rocky Mountain News, have been forced to shut down this year amid plunging ad sales. The 14-month recession has compounded problems for a business model that has failed to capitalize on ad dollars stemming from the Internet.

The New York Times has undergone a series of moves to cut costs in recent months, including raising $225 million earlier this month by leasing back most of its share of its newly-constructed 52-story Manhattan headquarters. The company also suspended its quarterly dividend and received a $250 million loan from Carlos Slim, a Mexican billionaire.

Shares of the media company rose sharply on the new cost-cutting moves.