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October 17, 2008

Newsquest redundancies at Buckinghamshire and Bolton

By Dominic Ponsford

A new round of cost-cutting at regional press group Newsquest is seeing up to 10 journalism jobs go at its centres in Bolton and High Wycombe.

Staff at the Bolton News, Bury Times, Bury Journal and Leigh Journal have been invited to apply for voluntary redundancy.

Journalists were told that five jobs are at risk and in a letter to staff, the company said the changes have come about due to ‘continued difficult trading conditions and due to a loss of advertisement volume, which will, as a consequence, mean a further reduction in pages and consequently content”.

Press Gazette understands that up to five jobs are also to go at the Bucks Free Press in High Wycombe. The latest cuts follow the axing of five editorial jobs at the title in 2006.

Press Gazette reported earlier this month that six jobs were going at Newquest’s North and East London titles following a restructure which will see sub-editors axed in favour of new multi-skilled journalists.

Newsquest London managing editor Anthony Longden said: ‘Newsquest has announced a number of possible redundancies at its newspapers in north and east London, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire following a wide-ranging review.

‘In a joint announcement issued earlier in the month, Vic Catanach, managing director of Newsquest’s Herts and Bucks division, and Andy Thomas, managing director of north and east London, said a number of jobs across the business may go as a result of challenging economic conditions.

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‘They added the company will follow its usual policy of avoiding unnecessary redundancy wherever possible. Due to the fact the consultation process is in progress and has been for some time, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

In July, Newsquest announced plans to cut ten editorial jobs at The Argus in Brighton as it took the paper from two regional editions, covering Brighton and the county of Sussex, to just one.

In June eight editorial jobs went at Newsquest’s York daily, The Press, and the same month four jobs went at the Northern Echo as it went from five geographical editions to two.

In recent months five editorial jobs have also been cut at Newsquest’s Cheshire and Merseyside titles.

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