Northcliffe Media to slash 95 jobs

Northcliffe Media is set to cut up to 95 jobs and close or merge a number of its weekly papers across Essex, Kent and Surrey in a bid to centralise regional production.

The publisher issued a statement earlier today to say that they have been forced to restructure to “reduce costs in the current challenging trading environment”.

Northcliffe confirmed that 14 of its free newspapers will close, including Total Essex and Focus in West Kent – free titles in Maidstone and Ashford have also been put under review.

The publisher plans to merge a number of titles “in several existing markets” to create single hybrid paid/free titles, similar to the way it merged paid for and free titles in Grinstead to create the East Grinstead Courier and Observer last September.

The regional publishing arm of the Daily Mail & General Trust notified staff of the job cuts at the end of last week and said it was looking to create an editorial design and production “hub” in Chelmsford, which would house both its free titles and paid-for weeklies.

The statement said: “As part of the proposed process we are actually looking to create approximately 20 new posts in the central working hub and we are making every effort to avoid unnecessary job losses, by offering those affected the opportunity to relocate to new roles.”

It is thought that subeditors will be heavily affected by the cuts as they have done when production has been centralised at other Northcliffe centres.

The move follows similar annoucements by the publisher to merge subediting operations in the east Midlands and the north of England.