Mirror publisher to cut jobs as advertising drops and costs rise

DAILY MIRROR publisher Reach has put 420 staff at risk of redundancy as it battles an advertising slowdown and surging costs.

The National Union of Journalists said yesterday that 192 editorial staff were being made redundant, among a total of 420 roles at risk.

Mirror group editor-in-chief Lloyd Embley and chief digital publisher David Higgerson said in a companywide email yesterday that Reach is struggling with a “combination of unprecedented cost inflation, a challenged consumer economy and an industry-wide decline in open-market advertising yields”.

The latest round of job cuts comes just weeks after 190 redundancies were announced in January as the beleaguered publisher seeks to save £30m this year.

Laura Davison, NUJ national organiser, said: “We are a far, far cry from the period when Reach was investing in new local sites and expanding its footprint across the country, claiming to have created a sustainable model for digital-only local journalism.”

A Reach spokesman said: “As we announced in January, with the current market headwinds we are facing we have had to take decisive action to review costs across the entire business including print production, energy sourcing, external suppliers, as well as, regrettably, the size of some of our teams.

“This work is ongoing as we review all aspects of our strategic transformation, to ensure we are well placed to benefit once headwinds subside.”

The spokesman insisted the latest round of cuts is not linked to the use of AI software to write articles on In Your

Area, its hyperlocal news and information site, as part of a test that could be expanded.

The pieces, outlining local tourism attractions in the Welsh city of Newport, are shown as having been written by the “Inyourarea Community” without reference to them being produced by software.

In January Reach unveiled disappointing financial results, with digital ad revenues falling 5.9pc and print sales down more than a fifth.

The London-listed company, formerly known as Trinity Mirror, publishes a large number of local and regional newspapers.

The company’s share price has slumped 20pc since the start of the year, trading at 76.38p when markets closed on yesterday.