Chronicle management is threatening to cut at least 225 jobs if the paper’s unions don’t meet the company’s demands, sources told the East Bay Express. Most of the cuts would come from the newsroom. However, if the Guild agrees to management’s demands — which include giving up seniority rights and slashing vacation and sick time — then management will only slash 150 jobs, the Express said. (The Bay Guardian also says management wants to cut 150 jobs.)

Here’s a link to the Guild’s bulletin on the status of the talks which includes an outline of management’s current offer.

“Our bargaining committee has reached no overall agreement with the management,” the Guild bulletin says. “Nor does our committee recommend passage of the “final proposal” before us. We can only say this: No option at this point looks favorable. The proposal before us may be the ‘least bad’ choice. In any case, we chose to put the question to our members to decide.”

Earlier in the week the union asked Hearst for a chance to purchase the paper if it is put up for sale. The Guild made the request in a set of suggestions it submitted to Hearst, according to the SF Weekly.

The idea of employee ownership was also floated in a paid ad in today’s Examiner (at right). The ad, bought by Chronicle reporter Delfin Vigil, stated that Hearst’s suggestion of closing the paper was “unacceptable, unforgivable and even un-American.”