Pinar Istek anchored the night shift on the photo desk, directing after-hours visual coverage of breaking news. She is a proactive leader who looks out for the whole photo desk and was an essential part of dozens of breaking stories.

Ahmed Ali Akbar went deep on all angles of Chicago’s vibrant food scene way beyond the plate — the economic, cultural and political winds that power it, but also the fun and community that springs up around it.

Shanzeh Ahmad has held multiple roles over her time with the Tribune, contributing features about life, food and religion and holding down Saturday shifts in first appearance court to make sure readers are informed throughout the week.

Sean Hammond is a ferociously productive reporter on the most well-read beat the Tribune has — the Bears. His layoff means that subscribers hungry for news and insight on the team will now be less informed.

Lizzie Kane, our tiger of a housing beat reporter who led a major workplace culture investigation into Guaranteed Rate, has landed one scoop after another, including several just this month, on the Chicago Housing Authority and HUD.

We are devastated to lose our colleagues and we stand with them. These are the journalists without whom Chicago will be less informed, entertained and connected:

Our newsroom leaders must do more to defend journalism. They haven’t communicated with us through this process or laid out a clear vision for the future.

We call on Executive Editor Mitch Pugh to meet with staff and explain the way forward.

Why is this happening? There’s only one answer: greed.

We haven’t gotten meaningful answers on why cuts must be made. This week, our hedge fund owner, Alden Global Capital, put in a $88 million bid to buy another newspaper. They just don’t care about this critical work.

We are losing trusted colleagues who covered housing, criminal justice, Chicago’s food scene, the Bears and a photo editor who helped bring all of those stories and many more to life. It hurts them and it hurts Tribune readers.

Working with us to improve the terms of the buyout could help avert layoffs and minimize the damage to our product and our business. Instead, they're choosing to obfuscate.

We have no information on what the financial goals are for this buyout, whether they might lay off members or why this is happening. The company has only given a vague justification of economic uncertainty.

The journalists in our union deserve respect. We will fight for it. And while we do that, we will keep working for Chicago. (5/5)

Alden needs to consider all options before cutting staff. And we encourage our editors to push back on the company. They know better than anyone that Chicago needs more reporting, not less. (4/5)

Cutting staff as a short-term profit boost is unsustainable. Our journalists photograph historic moments, break important news about government misconduct and keep you informed about the day to day. Buyouts will harm the newspaper's mission and hurt our company long-term. (3/5)

We're still gathering information on what these buyouts may entail. But one thing is certain: We will do whatever we can to support our members. (2/5)