Newsquest has come under fire for plans to axe four jobs at its centralised 'subbing hub' in Southampton less than six months after sub-editors were fired from the Brighton Argus in order to move the newspaper's sub-editing operations to the hub.

Four out of 20 subbing jobs are due being cut at the centralised hub, with additional editorial job cuts being made as part of a restructure at Newsquest's Bournemouth Daily Echo.

The restructure, announced by Newsquest last week, will include four job cuts and put seven members of staff at risk of redundancy. Newsquest said in a statement that it needed to make up for "significant shortfalls in revenue in key categories" .

Barry Fitzpatrick, head of publishing at the National Union of Journalists, told Journalism.co.uk that union members are now seeking a ballot to decide on whether to take industrial action.

The centralised subbing hub was set up two years ago to cater for Newsquest's Hampshire titles. In October, the publisher announced subbing operations would be moved from Brighton to Southampton. Brighton Argus staff organised two 48-hour strikes in protest.

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