INM to cut 30 jobs as 3-year plan is unveiled

INDEPENDENT News and Media yesterday announced it expects 30 redundancies across the business, as management unveiled a new strategic three-year plan.

In an briefing to staff, Michael Doorly, chief executive of INM – which is the publisher of the Irish Independent – said there would be an investment of €5m in technology and digital capability, as part of the strategy titled ‘INM@21’.

Mr Doorly said the management team had reviewed the challenges and the opportunities facing the publishing industry and what that meant for the business.

“The key challenges are declining circulation volumes and contracting advertising revenues, which is reflected in INM’s own performance,” he said.

“The major opportunity which we need to take is in increased digital revenues.

“While INM continues to be profitable, we recognise that the existing business model is not sustainable over the medium term and we need, as a matter of urgency, to stabilise and grow our business.

“In order to do that, we need to put our customers at the heart of everything we do. We have seen a marked shift in consumer behaviour from newspaper to mobile consumption of news and content and INM must adapt accordingly.”

Mr Doorly said the company anticipated that approximately 30 roles would be lost across the editorial and commercial functions to meet the future needs of the organisation.