Mirror to axe Midlands editorial positions

Editorial staff at Midlands regional Trinity Mirror papers are being told to reapply for their jobs after the company made 300 roles redundant, it has been reported.

The cuts, which span editorial positions across scores of regional daily and weekly newspapers, will mean current employees will almost certainly need to be reapplied for their own jobs.

However, there are around 65 fewer jobs to apply for through the new process than existed before the redundancies were announced, meaning many will lose their job in the Mirror shake-up.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has voiced its disappointment at the announcement but with the newspaper industry facing falls in circulation and from marketing revenue, the struggle to keep costs down has lead to similar cuts in various newspapers.

"People are scared about whether they'll have a job later this year and, if they do manage to keep their job, they're nervous about whether they'll be able to cope with the added workload that's clearly on the horizon," said Jeremy Dear, the general secretary of the NUJ.

The Daily Telegraph has become renowned for cutting large numbers of staff throughout its departments this year, although a recent announcement highlighted the axing of contract staff in order to create 40 permanent roles at the paper.

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