Johanna Maska, the former Obama White House aide who joined The Los Angeles Times just over four months ago, is leaving the paper on the heels of publisher Austin Beutner's firing earlier this week, the On Media blog has learned.

Maska, who spent eight years working for Obama, joined the Times in April as vice president of marketing and communications. She was one of several high-profile hires Beutner made during his 13 months as publisher of the paper. Beutner was abruptly fired on Tuesday due to disagreements with Tribune Publishing, the Times' parent company.

Meanwhile, Times staffers are bracing for a prolonged round of layoffs and buyouts that are likely to target at least 50 positions, sources with knowledge of the situation said. The Times currently employs roughly 500 staffers in its newsroom.