The LA Times will lose about 85 newsroom jobs by the end of the year, L.A. Observed reports. Some will come from attrition and buy..., er, "a voluntary separation program," but some layoffs sound inevitable. At L.A. Observed (which you should keep an eye on), you can find memos to the staff from publisher Jeffrey Johnson and editor Dean Baquet.

*Update: Also, the Orlando Sentinel (owned, like the Times, by Tribune), says it will "eliminate a limited number of positions."

*Update2: A source tells me the Chicago Tribune will trim newsroom staff by 30 with buyouts. Also the Tribune-owned Daily Press in Newport News, Va., (88,500 daily, 110,000 Sunday) laid off eight today.

*Update3: Former Chicago Tribune reporter John Cook reported yesterday that:

There is no official buyout offer on the table, but section editors have been told to spread the terms--two weeks' salary per year of employment, maximum one year - and encourage interested parties to inquire. If that doesn't net enough savings, official buyouts will be announced. If that doesn't work, paper and personnel.

My Chicago source updates me that people have been notified that there will be a buyout window on the Monday after Thanksgiving. They'll have 24 hours to apply for it. The terms are: minimum 10 years of service to apply, 2 weeks pay per year with a cap of one year of pay (so anyone over 26 years of service gets capped). The goal is to get to 100 positions newspaper-wide.

*Update4: A memo from Trib publisher David Hiller.

But we have also concluded that it will be necessary to eliminate some employee positions. We have tried to be as careful and thoughtful as possible. In many cases we will be able to eliminate positions that are currently open. The number of current employees whose jobs will be eliminated will likely be fewer than 100, spread across all of our departments.

*Update5: And 25 positions at the Trib-owned Hartford Courant.