Telegraph Group cuts 80 print jobs and announces plans to create 50 new digital roles

The Telegraph Group has cut 80 print jobs out of its 550 editorial staff as the daily and Sunday titles merge into a seven day operation.

The restructure will entail the creation of 50 new digitally focused roles, with chief executive Murdoch MacLennan explaining in a letter to staff that the Telegraph must “adapt and transform” how it functions as a business in order to guarantee its position in the long run.

“Print advertising has declined sharply in the first quarter of 2013, while newspaper sales continue to contract,” MacLennan said. “This trend makes the reality facing us clear.”

MacLennan went on to announce an £8 million investment to assist its transformation into a digital business – “our number one priority”.

The news comes not long after the latest ABC newspaper market results for February 2012, in which it was revealed that the Daily Telegraph print circulation was down -6.5% on the previous year.

However, the Telegraph’s digital platform is continuing to grow, with an average daily unique browser figure of 3.1 million – up a healthy 11% on last month alone.

In addition to the job cuts, a new role will be created – ‘director of content’ – which for the time being will be filled by the current executive editor Richard Ellis. The Daily and Sunday Telegraph editors will report to the director of content.

In MacLennan’s letter, he notes that the new director’s principle task will be to “oversee the establishment of an all-encompassing operation to transform newsroom culture into a dynamic process with our digital products at its core… across web, tablet and smartphone.”