The Spokesman-Review is offering voluntary buyouts to employees, with the intent of reducing its staff size by 5 percent, or 17 to 18 people, by the end of this year, the newspaper said this afternoon in a press release.

The Spokesman-Review currently employs 350 people and is owned by the Cowles Co., which also owns the Journal of Business through its Northwest Business Press Inc. subsidiary.

The release said employees who volunteer to leave will be eligible for payments of up to 38 weeks of salary, depending on the length of their tenure with the company.

Kathleen Coleman, director of sales and marketing at the Spokesman-Review, said in the release that growth in digital sales and niche products have yet to offset declines in local and national print advertising.

“Print remains highly relevant for its huge market reach, but we continue to see budgets shrink and migrate toward our targeted, digital media products,” Coleman said.

She noted, however, that digital sales continue to grow at double-digit rates, and  she said circulation revenue is stable.