BOSTON -- The big story on Morrissey Boulevard and beyond remains the future of The Boston Globe.

On April 9, the newspaper's owners at The New York Times Company demanded $20 million in concessions from union employees or else risk being shut down.

"The mood, as you might expect, is terrible," said former Globe editor Walter Robinson. He worked at the paper for 34 years, the last seven of which he spent running the Spotlight investigative team.

Former Globe editor Matthew Storin told NewsCenter 5, "I almost fell off my chair when I saw the headline. Total shock."

Storin speculated that The New York Times Co. is trying to reduce costs to attract buyers or as a condition of a potential sale of the Globe.

Labor attorney Doug Louison criticized company executives for threatening unions with a shutdown in order to get concessions on pay and benefits.

"It's coming to the negotiations table with a gun on top of it," Louison said. "It's not negotiating. It's threats."

No one from the Globe would comment, but executives just agreed to a temporary 5 percent salary reduction through December.

Since The New York Times Co. is publicly traded and required to file federal disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Team 5 Investigates reviewed the filings to find out how much company executives make.

According to SEC documents filed in March, company CEO Janet L. Robinson received a $1 million salary last year, but that jumped to $5.6-million with bonuses and stock.

Company Chairman Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. received $2.4 million.

Boston Globe Publisher P. Steven Ainsley was paid a $500,000 salary, but stock and other compensation brought that total to nearly $2 million.

"When they're talking about cuts across the board, it has to mean cuts across the board," Louison said.

Team 5 Investigates called some of the Globe's 13 unions, but no one returned the calls.

Former employees still believe the Globe will have a print edition a year from now.

"There are two goals for everybody," Robinson said. "How do we save the jobs? And how do we preserve the journalism?"