UK’s Daily Mirror owner Reach plans 450 job cuts

BRITISH news group Reach plans to cut 450 full-time jobs, or 10 per cent of the Daily Mirror parent company’s workforce, next year in a new round of cost-cutting to tackle inflation.

Reach, which counts national titles as well as regional papers and websites such as the Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Echo in its stable, said in July that the cost of printing newspapers had soared by 60 per cent due to high energy prices.

It warned on Wednesday (Nov 8) that inflation would continue to drag into 2024 and it would need to reduce operating costs by 5-6 per cent again, on top of the 5-6 per cent it was on track to cut this year.

“This cost reduction programme is part of the company’s drive to strengthen its position as a leading digital publisher, and mitigate against the backdrop of continuing inflationary pressures that we expect to impact 2024,” it said.

A spokesperson for Reach, which currently employs about 4,500 people, said the proposed job cuts would be across the board in both editorial and commercial roles, and came on top of the 330 redundancies made so far this year.

Britain’s high level of inflation over the last 18 months has left companies in all sectors hit by higher wage bills.

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Media groups like Reach have faced additional challenges in generating revenues due to changes to the Facebook algorithm which has deprioritised news content, as well as lower demand from advertisers due to the tough economy.

Reach shares, which have lost 18 per cent of their value so far this year, were up 0.5 per cent at 78 pence at 0843 GMT. REUTERS