Newspaper publisher, Newsquest is continuing to cut jobs across the UK, with positions now unsafe in London, Brighton and North Wales.
According to the National Union of Journalists, Newsquest plans to axe the roles of business editor, picture editor and half the sports desk at the Brighton Argus, the evening paper for Brighton and Hove.
In South London, an editor and one of two remaining sub editor roles have been targeted for cuts. The titles affected are the Croydon Guardian, Epsom Guardian, Streatham Guardian, Sutton Guardian, Wandsworth Guardian , Wimbledon Guardian, Elmbridge Guardian, Kingston Guardian, Richmond & Twickenham Times and the Surrey Comet.
The NUJ has condemned Newsquest’s latest announcement, saying that; “to cut more jobs across the UK and the contempt it has shown for its poorly-paid professionals doing their best with so few resources and staff.”
In Wales at Colwyn Bay the content manager and head of news jobs have been put at risk of redundancy with an accompanying proposal for one new role of audience and content editor to be created. The titles affected are the North Wales Chronicle, The Pioneer, The Rhyl Journal and the Denbighshire Free Press.
Newsquest has controlled the North Wales titles since taking over NWN Media in 2018. There have already been numerous redundancies at Colwyn Bay since Newsquest took over.
The company wants to make the cuts in a fortnight and in a letter to staff it claimed it had been reviewing all functions and would carry out reorganisations “so as to deliver efficiencies and reduce costs”.
Chris Morley, Newsquest NUJ group coordinator, said: “With newsrooms throughout Newsquest so badly depleted after many years of constant job attrition, these latest cuts are a cruel blow to poorly paid professionals doing their best to make journalism work in a company that appears to show disdain for it.”