The Tribune Co. laid off 240 employees in the third quarter of this year, new financial statements show.

The Tribune Co. publishes six newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, LA Times and Baltimore Sun. The company also owns more than 20 television stations, including Chicago’s WGN. The recent move to trim the number of employees comes as the Tribune Co. prepares to break its publishing and broadcasting assets into two different businesses. In July, the company said it would also buy 19 Local TV Holdings LLC television stations.

“While we are pleased with the progress we have made on key strategic initiatives in the third quarter, our financial results in the period did not meet our expectations,” Tribune CEO Peter Liguori said in a statement Monday. “We are taking targeted actions to position our broadcasting stations for profitable growth and look forward to consummating the pending acquisition of Local TV.”

According to Crain's Chicago Business, Tribune Co.'s operating revenue in the third quarter was $694.6 million, a 4.7 percent decrease. Over the first nine months of the year, the operating revenue declined 6.3 percent to $2.13 billion.

During the first half of 2013, the company eliminated 120 workers.