The Telegraph Group has announced plans for further job cuts and a multi-million pound investment programme in technology and staff training.
The changes will come as the Telegraph completes its move from Canary Wharf to Victoria in November. The company has also revealed that plans to convert the paper to full colour will be finalised next month.
Chief executive Murdoch MacLennan said: “The huge investment is designed to make the Telegraph the cutting edge media group in the United Kingdom. It will allow us to make the utmost use of the massive opportunities offered by the digital information revolution. What we are in fact doing is to begin reshaping the face of the industry.”
The Telegraph has promised to radically change the news production process to enable it to provide “news and information 24 hours a day across a wide range of platforms”.
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In a letter to staff, MacLennan said: “The competition – not just from our traditional print rivals – is changing, growing and becoming fiercer. Readers are migrating online, and advertisers are following them. People are demanding customised news, wherever and whenever they want it. We have to adapt to these realities, or face a future of decline which goes to the very heart of our business.
“As big as the challenges are, there are unparalleled opportunities, too. In a multi-media world, strong brands will flourish. And The Telegraph – with its hallmarks of honesty, integrity and reliability – is perfectly placed to become the digital market leader in news and comment.”
He added: “Some aspects of our news operation have not altered significantly in decades. The digital revolution is rapidly making them obsolete. When we move, we must take the opportunity to do things differently, particularly in the way we produce our content…
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“We have reached a view that there will be some job losses. The proposed extent of these is still under consideration. We will later today begin a process of consultation with staff and staff representatives.
"In due course, those who are likely to be at risk of redundancy will receive a letter informing them, and setting out the individual consultation we will undertake before final decisions are made.”
The move to Victoria is to begin “shortly” with the business section going first, then the other departments towards the end of this month and in October.
In February, 2005, some 90 journalists took voluntary redundancy. The cuts were needed, the company said, to help fund a £150 million re-pressing programme.
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