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Gannet company, the largest newspaper publisher in the country, said yesterday that it will try to avoid layoffs by forcing many employees to take unpaid vacations, also known as furloughs. The exact number of employees required to take furloughs was not specified, but the company did say that most of its 31,000 U.S. employees, excluding ?essential? employees and new hires, will be required to take at least a week off. All employees, chiefs included, have been put on a pay freeze for one year. Employers cannot impose furloughs on unionized employees (about 12% of Gannet?s workforce) but have asked unions to participate voluntarily. Employees have been told that in order to comply with federal law, they may not work in any way during their time off ? no emails, no phone calls.