In the midst of the Village Voice's hacking half its masthead, it almost slipped our mind that David Blum was starting at the alt-weekly next week. And yesterday, at 3 pm, the remaining Voice staffers gathered somberly into the office to hear, from their new EIC, what the hell the pub plans to do with itself.

Today, six days before his official Sept. 12 start date, Blum told the remaining staff that no more layoffs were in the works, and that any future dismissals would go through him, according to a staffer present at the meeting.

"I felt it was important for them to hear from me," Blum said.

As in, Voice staffers better start kissing Blum's ass. It's up to him now who stays and who goes, and, uh, future dismissals sound kind of inevitable. Though, they're also hiring … so if you're really looking for some unemployment to go on vacation with these holidays, this is the best place to apply.

Voice Editor Blum, "Union Guy," Meets Underlings Today, Overlings Tomorrow [Michael Calderone, Media Mob]