The News Guild of New York, which represents the 40-plus journalists in the section, called Levy's memo a "public fragging" by Times management and said his offer of "voluntary" buyouts was "an unexpected threat to our journalism and our jobs."

"This public fragging of journalists by a Times manager with a manufactured narrative of staff obstinacy should make every decent member of management cringe," the guild said in a late Thursday memo to its members. "It has been met with disgust by rank-and-file journalists across the newsroom."

A town hall meeting with Times executive editor Dean Baquet was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Friday.

Levy, as part of a digital-first push that he claimed is lacking in the metro section, said the section's staffers were going to be offered a chance to take voluntary buyouts. Many insiders fretted they were going to get "performance appraised" out of their jobs in a looming review process under Levy.