The newspaper publisher, which in 2006 bought Morton Newspapers, publisher of the Derry Journal, said in a statement that it "has reviewed the prepress and finance functions across the Northern Ireland Division".

It added that as a result, the firm "is proposing to centralise the departments to one site at head office, in County Armagh".

Should the proposal continue to go ahead, up to 14 jobs would be at risk of redundancy at the Derry Journal site.

Despite the possibility of redundancies, the company said it "is committed to continued investment in the provision of strong local content and a first class advertising service to our readers and advertisers in Derry and Donegal".

Jean Long, divisional managing director for Johnston Press Northern Ireland, said: "The decision was regrettable but necessary in an ever-increasingly competitive market."

Long added that directly affected staff have been informed of the proposals and consultation with them is under way.

"The company will make every effort to minimise the impact of this proposal on affected staff through, where possible, by re-deployment to alternative positions in the group," she added.