At the beginning of the year Reach issued a profit warning and said that 200 jobs would go across the group as part of plans to save £30m.
When the group released its year-end results earlier this month, it announced a further programme of cost cutting with the result that 420 jobs are now at risk. Some roles will go through the simplification of central support functions and “the removal of editorial duplication”.
The NUJ said the fresh plans would lead to “significant losses in editorial roles”, and came only two weeks after the most recent company cuts were concluded. “Many of those at risk in the previous redundancy process find themselves at risk again,” the union stated.
A unanimous vote of no confidence in the publisher’s chief executive Jim Mullen and the senior management team was passed at an NUJ group chapel meeting on Friday (17 March).
NUJ national organiser Laura Davison said: “Members and reps are devastated and angry at the decision to cut such a huge number of jobs. In some cases half of certain teams are going and in others people are not clear about the choices being made. The uncertainty created for everyone within the business and the impact for those who may be left behind is affecting everybody, whether they are at risk or not.
“There is a lack of hope and confidence in the decisions being made – about the direction of travel, the shape of the business in future, about the ever-changing priorities and about how the process is being handled.”
Reach also expects to make savings in its print supply chain as part of the latest cost reduction plans, driven by more efficient raw materials sourcing and distribution planning.
The publisher of national and regional titles including the Daily Mirror and Manchester Evening News said the further programme of cost reduction would result in a 5-6% like-for-like reduction in operating costs this year.
A Reach spokesperson said: “We will continue to work closely with all impacted teams and continue to be committed to delivering a sustainable business and a long-term future for our journalism.”
The group has already made a further reduction to its own printing footprint with the closure of its Teesside site, leaving three print plants Cardonald in Scotland, Oldham, and Watford.
Prior to that Reach's Luton and Birmingham print sites were shuttered following a 2020 consolidation exercise based on likely future print volumes.
In the year ending 25 December overall sales at Reach slipped by 2.3% to £601.4m, while operating profit was down 10.1% at £71.3m.
Reach’s share price has fallen by 24.17% since the start of the year, and was at 72.80p at the time of writing (52-week high: 199.20p, low: 64.40p).
