Reach, the owner of the “Mirror” and “Express” newspapers, has revealed plans to cut around 450 positions in an effort to further reduce expenses.
The company also controls the “Daily Star” and local UK publications such as the “Manchester Evening News,” “Birmingham Mail,” and “Liverpool Echo.
The firm says these job cuts are a segment of a strategy to decrease operational expenses by five percent to six percent by 2024.
READ MORE: Mirror And Express Publisher Reach Warns Up To 420 Staff At Risk Of Redundancy
The corporation has indicated that these additional savings will be channeled into enhancing its digital presence.
The firm is contending with a downturn in both the online and print newspaper advertising sectors, with digital earnings suffering due to Facebook and other significant media entities opting to lower the priority of news content.
Reach has already achieved cost reductions of up to six percent within this year.
In January, it announced a downsizing of 200 positions as part of a £30m economizing campaign following a downturn in the digital and print newspaper advertising sectors.
The market scenario has persisted in being challenging.
Reach’s market value has decreased by 30 percent over the past twelve months, with its digital revenue approach being impacted by major social networks, particularly Facebook, relegating news content.
In its third-quarter financial briefing, Reach noted a 13.7 percent decrease in digital earnings as online page views decreased by 21 percent year-over-year in the initial nine months.
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Overall print revenue also diminished by six percent, with proceeds from newspaper sales and advertising on the decline.
An intensified shift towards a digital-first approach is anticipated to result in the company’s distinct daily and Sunday newspaper operations consolidating towards unified seven-day publishing models.
In the most recent financial statement, the company projected it would generate £95m in profits for the current year, yet it remains committed to “driving efficiencies” and curtailing operational costs.
In July 2020, in reaction to the Covid pandemic, Reach reduced its workforce by 550 employees, which was about 12 percent of its staff at that juncture.
Jim Mullen, the CEO of Reach, said: “Our industry has a history of change and the future will undoubtedly involve yet more.
That’s why it’s essential we set ourselves up to win, by making our operations suited to an increasingly fast-paced, competitive and customer-focused digital world.”
“Hard work over the last few years means we have established ourselves as a leading digital publisher. But there’s more to do and today is about organising our business to deliver against that challenge.”
