Newsroom staff at Belo’s newspapers apparently can rest easy despite the Dallas-based company’s decision to spin off its newspaper business into a separate company.

Chief Executive Robert Decherd, who will run the new newspaper company, told us that any cost cuts in terms of layoffs headcount reduction would not come from the editorial side of its operations. Those folks, he said, have been through plenty already :

The Providence Journal has long since rationalized the size of its newsgathering operation… In Dallas , as you know, we had a major initiative a year ago — voluntary buyouts that had us very focused on our core readers. In Riverside (California), they are pretty well complete with the process.

Any remaining cuts, he said, would come from previously announced plans, not from the spinoff, he said.

Dunia Shive, Belo’s chief operating officer who will run the broadcasting company, said the same thing. “I think that most of what we talked about in terms of cost reduction are on the corporate side. We expect no effect on the local properties.”

With that in mind, get back to work. It’s nearly deadline!