Turns out yesterday's bad portents were sadly accurate: The Pioneer Press is in the process of laying off nine members of its 138-person newsroom this morning.

Copy editor Andrew Pritchard broke the news on his Facebook page, posting that he "became an ex-journalist at 9:25 this morning. Am told there are eight others."

Overall, PiPress layoffs number ten, including one non-newsroom worker. Aside from Pritchard, I don't have any other names at the moment. Union spokesperson Dave Orrick, declined comment, though his Newspaper Guild will likely release a statement later today.

The scuttlebutt around the newsroom is that reporters and photographers are most likely to be spared, while copy editors, news editors and page designers will most likely feel the pain. This continues a War on Editing that's played out similarly in Strib buyouts and pay cuts.

The move comes on the last day of PiPress owner MediaNews Group's fiscal year. The cash-strapped company is highly leveraged, and in recent months has stopped reporting financial results, though there is no indication bankruptcy is imminent.

While it's cold comfort, ten layoffs would be fewer than the estimated 15-20, based on management's earlier $1.1 million annual savings demand. PiPress survivors are due to get a 1-2 percent raise tomorrow, though there's no guarantee against more pink slips.