AUGUSTA – The Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel newspapers are eliminating 20 full- and part-time positions this month.

Publisher John Christie says the cuts equate to roughly 10 percent of the company’s payroll.

He says most of the cuts will come voluntarily through buyouts.

Like many newspapers, the Kennebec Journal in Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville have been affected by declining advertising revenue and rising costs of doing business.

These are the second cuts this year for the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel.

There was a smaller round of layoffs and job reductions in April.

The newspapers, along with the Portland Press Herald, are owned by the Seattle Times Co., which put the papers up for sale in March.

A locally backed investor group that includes former Defense Secretary William Cohen has emerged as a potential buyer of the papers.