New York, Oct 20 (DPA) The New York Times is to slash 100 jobs in its newsroom as the largest and most prestigious newspaper in the US continues to struggle with the drop in advertising and readership that is bedeviling the newspaper business.

The decision was announced in a Monday memo from the paper's Executive Editor Bill Keller to newsroom staff who will have 45 days to apply for a voluntary buyout package. The paper slashed a similar number of newsroom jobs in early 2008 in addition to numerous other cuts throughout the company, including a five-percent across the board pay reduction. The company employs 1,250 people in its news department, representing by far the largest newspaper staff in the US.

"In recent years, we've managed to avoid the disabling cutbacks that have hit other newsrooms," said Keller. "These latest cuts will still leave us with the largest, strongest and most ambitious editorial staff of any newsroom in the country, if not the world."