The Guardian accepts 257 voluntary redundancies in cost cut drive
Some 250 staff at the Guardian have reportedly chosen to take voluntary redundancy as part of the publisher’s plan to cut costs by 20 per cent, though it has yet to hit its target of 100 redundancies in the newsroom.
The Guardian accepts 257 voluntary redundancies in 20% cost cut drive
The newspaper’s management team accepted the applications for voluntary redundancies, reports The Telegraph in a process that began in March.
Not all of those employees set to the depart the business are from the newsroom, leaving the paper’s editor Katherine Viner and chief executive David Pemsell short of the 100 roles they had planned to cut. In an email to staff earlier this week, it revealed that 92 editorial staff had applied for voluntary redundancy but only 69 have been accepted. Consequently, the Guardian’s commercial and back office departments will shed 188 positions rather than the 150 originally planned.
The cost cuts come amid a torrid time for newspapers after ongoing declines in print have quickened in recent months. Print advertising across the sector slumped 25 per cent in 2015, according to the Guardian, while the proliferation of mobile and commoditisation of display media have dampened online prospects.
To combat the decline, the Guardian announced in March plans to cut 250 jobs and to restructure the less profitable parts of the company to break even within three years.