Will Bourne, the editor-in-chief of The Village Voice for only six months, has resigned. The New York Times reports that Bourne — along with deputy editor Jessica Lustig — chose to leave the paper rather than implement staff cuts:

They met with the staff at 11 p.m. on Thursday and said that Christine Brennan, executive editor of Voice Media Group, had instructed them to cut five positions from the 20-person staff. Rather than carrying out the cuts, they resigned and left immediately.

“When I was brought in here, I was explicitly told that the bloodletting had come to an end,” Bourne told the Times. “I have enormous respect for the staff here and the work they have been doing and I am not going to preside over further layoffs.”

Bourne succeeded Tony Ortega as editor of the Voice in late November. We’ve reached out to him for comment and will update when we hear back.