More job cuts as Northcliffe scraps North East sub hub

Four jobs are to be cut by regional newspaper publisher Northcliffe Media as part of plans to disband a centralised sub-editing hub in Hull.

The hub was created two years ago, with the loss of jobs, to centralise newspaper sub-editing and production for several titles in the region including the Hull Daily Mail, Grimsby Telegraph, Scunthorpe Telegraph, and Lincolnshire Echo.
 
Now Northcliffe will return those operations to the offices of the Hull Daily Mail, Grimsby Telegraph, and Lincolnshire echo, cutting a further four full-time roles in the process.

The Hull hub currently employs 17 full time sub-editors and managers, one part-time sub-editor and two full-time graphic artists.

Under the new plans, 13 full time and 2 part-time sub-editor roles will be available. The total cuts are likely to amount to a reduction from 19 full-time positions and one part-time position to 13 part-time positions and two part-time positions.

The publisher, which has entered a 30-day consultation period with affected staff, called the move "a positive step in its wish to give ownership and control of its print products back to local teams".

Plans are also underway at Northcliffe to close the offices of the Croydon Advertiser, moving staff to its offices in Redhill. The most recent ABC figures for the part-free weekly show average circulation of 77,548 for the six months to June 2011.

The company has said that the move is simply an office relocation of 12 staff and will not involve any redundancies.

There are also likely to be 38 jobs cuts in Kent as part of Northcliffe's plans to close two of its titles, the Medway News and East Kent Gazette.

The publisher said in a statement that the possible closures were a direct result of the failure of a planned sale of Northcliffe's Kent News & Media Group to the Kent Messenger Group (KM Group).

The planned sale was referred to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading, causing the KM Group to withdraw from the arrangement to avoid the potentially high costs.

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