Daily Mail staff fear job cuts amid shake-up

JOURNALISTS at the Daily Mail are braced for job cuts after bosses warned of changes to working patterns as the newspaper group races to adapt to the digital age.

In a note to staff, Ted Verity, editor of Mail Newspapers, said the publisher was taking further steps to merge its titles to put digital “at the heart of everything we do”.

He said: “Inevitably, this will mean changes to the way some reporters and news desk executives work. Some staff will see a change to their working pattern, job title, line manager or duties.”

He added that managers will be in touch with affected employees to discuss the proposals. It is believed that some newsroom staff did not receive the email.

The overhaul will fuel concerns about job losses at the Daily Mail a year after the company cut dozens of roles as it began merging operations across its daily and Sunday titles.

Bosses said the move would eradicate “unnecessary duplication” as multiple journalists often worked on rival versions of the same story for the publisher’s print and online output.

Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), which is owned by Lord Rothermere, is now accelerating its overhaul against a challenging backdrop for news organisations. DMGT’S online ad revenues fell 3pc last year to £166m, while print ad revenues tumbled 16pc as brands pulled back spend. In January, Mailonline began charging readers for access to a small number of premium articles, mirroring similar moves to GB News.

The partial paywall marks efforts by the publisher to reduce its reliance on digital advertising revenues amid a broader downturn in the market.

In the email, Mr Verity said the new Mail+ venture was “so far exceeding expectations”.

The spectre of job cuts comes after Reach, the publisher of the Express and Mirror, slashed almost 800 roles last year. Jim Mullen, chief executive of Reach, has refused to rule out further job losses as the company struggles to offset a slump in ad revenues.