On February 3, 2009, the paper laid off 24 employees, the first layoffs in the paper's 136-year history. The cuts represented approximately one quarter of its newsroom staff, but it remained the largest newsroom east of Montreal. These cuts impacted the production department where nine employees were laid off. The company stated that these layoffs were the result of a decline in advertising due to the distress of the current economic situation. In 2014, the Herald issued layoff notices to another 20 newsroom employees.