Newsquest parent company in US asks staff to take week off without any pay

Editor & Publisher is reporting that Gannett, which owns Newsquest in the UK, is asking its employees to take a week off without pay.
The magazine quotes a memo from Gannett CEO Craig Dubow: "Today Gannett is implementing a furlough program across all U.S. divisions and at corporate headquarters. This means that most of our U.S. employees - including myself and all other top executives - will be furloughed for the equivalent of one week in the first quarter. This furlough will be unpaid. Unions also will be asked to participate. We are doing this to preserve our operations and continue to deliver for our customers while confronting the issues raised by some of the most difficult economic conditions we have ever experienced."
Could it happen here?