Newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. is slashing 1,400 jobs, or 10 percent of its work force, after they reported a 15.4 percent decline in advertising revenues in the first five months of the year.

McClatchy, who is the No. 3 U.S. newspaper company with over 30 dailies, also owns a 15 percent stake in Careerbuilder from their $4 billion purchase of Knight Ridder in 2006.

“We have been transitioning steadily and successfully from a traditional newspaper company to an integrated multimedia company for some time,” said McClatchy CEO Gary Pruitt in a press release Monday. “The effects of the current national economic downturn — particularly in real estate, auto and employment advertising — make it essential that we move faster now to realign our workforce and make our operations more efficient.

Steep competition from other online advertising rivals such as Craigslist have caused many newspaper publishers to begin cutting staff in recent months as part of a broader initiative to contain costs.

McClatchy said that staff cuts would save approximately $70 million a year, but they didn’t specify where or what kind of jobs would be eliminated.

Shares of McClatchy rose 5 cents to $8.20 in morning trading Monday.

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