Sixteen journalists are to lose their jobs on The People so that the paper can spend more money on marketing.
People: More marketing,less staff
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Trinity Mirror said it does not intend to cut the budget for casuals and said most of the staff affected are part-time. The reduction equates to 10 full time editorial jobs out of 100.
Twelve jobs went in 2002 from The People .
The paper’s circulation has declined by 500,000 copies in four years and currently stands at 1,022,243.
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A company spokesman said: “We’re re-allocating resources in order to improve performance and protect the long-term future of the title. The aim is not simply to reduce costs by reducing headcount, but to reinvest the significant cost savings into the title, in particular into the marketing budget.”
Redundancy notices are understood to have gone out on Tuesday, marking the start of a month’s consultation with staff and their union, the British Association of Journalists.
Five jobs are going at The People’s Belfast operation following the departure of Greg Harkin last week to be Ulster editor of the Daily Mirror where John Kierans continues as the Mirror’s Ireland editor.
The other 11 jobs are going from Canary Wharf and are thought to include at least one senior editor.
BAJ general secretary Steve Turner said: “It’s a great shock for People journalists to be facing more redundancies and substantial job losses in 2002. BAJ is involved in talks with the company over reducing the number of redundancies and improving terms.”
Dominic Ponsford
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