Trinity Mirror 'suspends' six weekly freesheets in Scotland

Scottish & Universal Newspapers – a local division of Trinity Mirror – is to suspend publication of its free weekly titles in Scotland.

Publication of the Lanarkshire World, Perth Shopper, Stirling Shopper, Renfrewshire World, Clyde Weekly News and Dumfries and Galloway Today will stop on 9 September.

According to a statement from Trinity Mirror, the move puts three clerical and two distribution staff at risk of losing their jobs. A spokesman for the company said that no editorial staff would be affected.

The company has begun a consultation period with affected staff.

Bill Steven, managing director of Scottish & Universal Newspapers, said: "We've taken this decision to suspend these titles as a result of the challenging economic environment and we will review the feasibility of re-introducing them should trading conditions improve in the future.

"Where possible we hope to achieve any redundancies by voluntary means and will also be exploring opportunities for alternative employment for those affected."

Trinity Mirror's national titles in Scotland face have faced severe cuts in staff recently, with the company confirming earlier this month that it would make 85 redundancies at the Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail. The job losses include 49 voluntary redundancies and 11 compulsory redundancies so far.

Trinity Mirror, which publishes the Daily and Sunday Mirror, the People, and more than a hundred regional titles, announced last week that it was increasing its savings target for the coming year from £15 million to £25 million in the wake of declining revenues.

The company saw a 17 per cent drop in adjusted pre-tax profits to £41.9 million for the first half of this year, with total revenue for the group fell 3 per cent to £371 million.

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