Clear Channel To Cut 590

Clear Channel Communications Inc., the largest owner of U.S. radio stations, said Tuesday it is cutting 590 jobs, including some on-air personalities, in its second round of mass layoffs this year amid pressure from the recession and competition from online media.

Clear Channel’s parent company, CC Media Holdings Inc., also said Tuesday that it will suspend its 401(k) match for all employees for the rest of the year, starting Friday. However, if the company hits 90 percent of its budget goals at the end of the year, the matches will be retroactively restored, a company spokeswoman said.

The latest cuts represent 2.7 percent of company’s work force and affect operational jobs like engineering, accounting and customer service, all in the radio division. The company also has an outdoor advertising division, which sells items like billboard space and wasn’t affected by the job cuts.

The previous cuts of 1,850 jobs came in January and were also in the radio division, mostly in sales. Clear Channel didn’t break the cuts out by geography or job function, but said it did include some on-air personalities. Employees were notified of the cuts Tuesday.

Together, both rounds of cuts amount to a nearly 12 percent reduction in Clear Channel’s work force since the start of the year.