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April 14, 2014

15 jobs at risk as Trinity Mirror announces closure of Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle

By William Turvill

Trinity Mirror's Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicle series is to be closed down this month, putting 15 jobs at risk of redundancy.
The final edition of the free title, which recorded a circulation of 45,490 in December's ABC figures, is set to be released on 25 April.
Additionally, staff on sister newspapers have been told that they will be moved to Watford, North London, when Trinity Mirror's lease on their Uxbridge office expires in May.
The publisher said it would also be supporting "remote working".
There are understood to be ten editorial jobs at risk at the series, which also includes the Kensington and Chelsea Chronicle and the Westminster Chronicle.
Staff were told on Friday the paper’s sister titles – the Ealing Gazette, Harrow Observer, Uxbridge Gazette and Hounslow Chronicle – will remain in existence as well as their umbrella website, www.getwestlondon.co.uk.
But, according to the National Union of Journalists, three of the titles are to be switched from door-to-door distribution to free pick-up.
The Harrow Observer, which is the only paper with a local rival in the Harrow Times, will remain door-to-door.
“Following a recent review of the portfolio in West London it has become clear that some areas of the business have become unsustainable,” a Trinity Mirror spokesman said.
“As a result the company is proposing to close the Hammersmith and Fulham Chronicle Series. The final edition will be published on Friday 25 April.”
They added: “Once the lease expires at the Uxbridge premises the office function and staff will be relocated to the Watford site.
“The company will also support remote working and relocation to other Trinity Mirror Southern offices where practical.
“Regrettably, these proposals mean that 15 roles are now at risk of redundancy.”
Laura Davison, national organiser, said: “This announcement has come as a terrible shock to the hardworking staff of these titles. The speed of it means there is little time to look at meaningful alternatives to closure.
“Trinity Mirror should not simply be able to shut down these titles and lock them away after years of starving them of resources. It will leave some communities with no local paper, depriving them of a way to access information and hold local power to account.
"Readers and the Trinity Mirror journalists who serve them, deserve better.”
The Buckinghamshire Examiner and Buckinghamshire Advertiser will be among the titles to switch offices from Uxbridge to Watford.

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