The Boston Globe, one of the most respected newspapers in the U.S., could be shut down if its employees don't make major contract concessions, according to union leaders.

A report by the Globe published Saturday says executives with the New York Times Co., the Globe's owner, wants the newspaper's 13 unions to accept pay cuts and reduced company contributions to health insurance and pension plans.

Union leaders say they were told the whole operation could be shut down unless the unions agree to $20 million US worth of concessions.

"We all know the newspaper industry to going through great transition and loss," said Ralph Giallanella of Teamsters Local 259. "They're serious."

Giallanella said "hundreds of jobs are at stake," adding that the unions may have no other choice.

Daniel Totten, head of the Boston Newspaper Guild — the Globe's biggest union — said workers have 30 days to accept the demands or see the paper closed.

The news comes in light of massive shutdowns and layoffs in the newspaper industry in North America, especially in the U.S.

Bankruptcy filings afflict U.S. newspaper industry

The Rocky Mountain News in Denver and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer are just two of the many newspapers that have ceased print publication. The P-I continues to have an online edition.

Several newspaper conglomerates have filed for bankruptcy, including The Tribune Co., which publishes the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times; Philadelphia Newspapers; and the Sun-Times Media Group.

Meanwhile, other major newspapers are on the critical list, including the San Francisco Chronicle and the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.

The Globe has already seen 50 full-time jobs chopped.

According to Saturday's article, the Globe is projected to lose $85 million US in 2009, after posting an estimated $50-million loss in 2008.

"The New York Times Co. has its back up against the wall and it's looking for ways to survive.… The Globe has become a drag on earnings," Lou Ureneck, chairman of the journalism department at Boston University's College of Communications, said in the article.

The Globe, the 14th-largest paper in the U.S., was created in 1872 by a group of local businessmen. In 1993, it was sold to The New York Times Co.

The paper has garnered 20 Pulitzer prizes and is considered an integral part of Boston, and New England, life.

"The Boston Globe helped build Boston," said the city's mayor, Thomas Menino. "The city would lose a vital institution."