Hit by some of the financial problems that have plagued other newspapers around the country, the Albuquerque Journal has laid off seven newsroom staffers and made other changes to save money, Journal publisher T.H. Lang said Thursday.

Among those losing their jobs was Journal business reporter Tamara Shope, who was told about the layoffs Wednesday night after she filed a story and was walking to the parking lot.

"An editor told me he had terrible news," Shope said. "Seven people were being laid off, and I was one of them. He said it was because I was the last person hired." Shope said she had been hired last September.

"The irony of it was that I was the retail reporter," she said. "I was writing about people losing their jobs."

Shope previously worked for the Albuquerque Tribune, which closed last year.

In a statement on the Albuquerque Journal's Web site, publisher Lang announced staff reductions of "fewer than 10" in the newsroom.

"The people affected are good journalists who have made valuable contributions to the Journal," Lang said. "The economic environment is forcing newsrooms across the country to make painful decisions. Despite the challenges, the Journal will continue to focus on providing in-depth, thorough coverage of news that most affects our readers."

The cuts affected several editorial departments in Albuquerque and the newspaper's Journal North edition based in Santa Fe. The number of positions was imprecise because some part-time employees were laid off.

Journal North editor Mark Oswald said he couldn't comment on the layoffs and referred news organizations to the statement about the layoffs on the Journal Web site.

The statement also indicated that the Journal had made staff reductions in circulation, advertising, production and other departments.

Also losing her job was Susan See, who worked in advertising for the Albuquerque Publishing Co. She wrote about the loss on www.dukecityfix.com, an Albuquerque community Web site.

"So far I've somehow kept it together, despite losing my job as of an hour and a half ago," See said. "I've not turned into a screaming crying 2 year-old as in the past 3 layoffs. But it's just below the surface and is growing with each minute. My hands and body are shaking, my neck hurts. I need that shoulder to cry on for a day or so and then I've got to pick myself up and figure out what the hell I'm going to do."

In addition, the Journal's Business Outlook section will be published only on Mondays — the Thursday section has been dropped.

The Journal also plans to stop home deliveries and rack sales in more than 30 communities around the state because of the economic downturn.

Brian Fantl, general manager for the Albuquerque Publishing Co., said Thursday that it was a difficult decision because the Journal has circulated in nearly every part of the state for decades.

But, he said, "we've subsidized delivery costs throughout New Mexico for many years with advertising revenue, and advertising revenue has dropped sharply, and we've had to take a look at every cost that we can."

Those home deliveries will stop at the end of January. Subscribers will still be able to get the Journal's electronic version or receive the paper by mail, he said.

Newspapers nationwide have been squeezed as readers and advertisers move to the Internet, and the economic downturn has further worsened the industry's struggles.

Fantl said the Journal's shipping costs also have risen, he said. "Circulation revenue in every area we looked at doesn't cover the production costs. ... Then you add shipping to that," Fantl said.

Last year, Albuquerque lost its other daily newspaper, The Albuquerque Tribune, which shut down in February after nine decades in the news business.

Fantl said the cutbacks at the Journal will include home delivery and rack sales north of Las Vegas, N.M., including Raton; east of Moriarty on Interstate 40, including Santa Rosa, Tucumcari and the northeast corner; much of the east side, including Clovis, Portales, Artesia, Carlsbad, Hobbs, Lovington, Alamogordo, Tularosa and Carrizozo; and the southwest corner, including Deming, Lordsburg and the Silver City area.

The company said those areas represent a small percentage of its total circulation. The newspaper will continue home delivery and single-copy sales in Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Taos and Española, Western New Mexico including Grants and Gallup, the Four Corners area, Roswell in Eastern New Mexico, the three-county area around Albuquerque and south to Las Cruces, Fantl said.

The Santa Fe New Mexican went thorough a series of layoffs last year.

In July, the publication announced a plan to eliminate 16.5 jobs, with 60 percent of the cuts in the newsroom. In October voluntary buyouts were offered to other full-time employees.

And in November, The New Mexican announced the discontinuation of Drive and La Voz, both published weekly, a move that eliminated three positions associated with the two publications.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Contact Bob Quick at 986-3011 or bobquick@sfnewmexican.com.