Regional publisher Johnston Press is to continue its programme of cost-cutting with a forecast reduction of £15m this year according to a company statement today.

In an interim management statement, it said the previously forecast cutbacks of £10m would rise by a further £5m with a further reduction in headcount anticipated.

The company said the general election had hit advertising revenues over the past six weeks and that growth was now unlikely to occur until the late summer and early autumn.

Advertising revenues for the 18 weeks up until 8 May were down 7.1pc on the same period in 2009.

The company said: “Advertising over the first quarter was fairly stable. However, performance in April was a little more subdued, primarily due to the General Election.

“We would expect the election’s impact to continue through the second quarter and therefore not see any significant improvements in the current trend until Q3, 2010.”

News of the extra cutbacks is unlikely to soothe the current staff discord over the group’s planned introduction of the Atex content management system which effectively does away with the need for sub-editors.

Members of the National Union of Journalists have already voted to hold a group-wide stoppage over the plans and the union is currently considering its next move.

Comments

Dissident (12/05/2010 11:20:24)
Which excuse will these berks come up with next their neverending cuts?
Volcanic ash, perhaps? The wrong kind of snow? Unrest in the Balkans?
What a company!

JP “sub” (12/05/2010 11:32:25)
We seem to be permanently on edge thanks to the omnipresent fear of losing our jobs – where will the next cuts come from?
But it is obvious to all – except it seems those in charge – that the cuts are having a negative impact on the quality of the papers and this is reflected in sales and falling ad revenue. Blame what you like, but part of the reason ad revenue is down is falling readership and the fact advertisers no longer have faith in the papers JP produces – and that’s, in part, because the head count has fallen so low that editorial quality has drastically fallen. Why don’t you actually listen to the staff in the newsrooms and “sub hubs” – they can see why sales are falling and why JP management are slowly, but surely, putting the company out of business.

hilary (12/05/2010 11:38:04)
That’s the lamest excuse I’ve heard for a while! Everyone else is seeing an improvement in revenues, albeit slight. No, it’s JP management spinning its papers down a black hole: cuts (doubtless in ad sales staff, as well as journalists) = falling quality = falling sales, both ads and circulation = falling revenue = … more cuts? Have come sense, JP, before it’s too late!

Fed up (12/05/2010 11:40:22)
Easy and beneficial way to save £5 million. Get Fry to sack himself and his cronies for crimes against the media industry. Job done!

Sly Dig (12/05/2010 12:26:29)
Working up here in the North West, thankfully not on a JP title, I have seen numerous examples of the product put out under the (cost) cutting edge Atex system.
The only way to describe them is primary school newsletters, put together by seven-year-olds. They are appalling and it is no wonder revenues are falling. But never fear, we can get rid of the last few remaining subs, get work experience reporters for free to keep the enterprise sailing for a few more months until it all collapses.
JP, TM, Newsquest et al. You reap what you sow.

Observer (12/05/2010 12:35:01)
Did they not see that coming? Everyone has know the election was going to be in May for more than a year except, it seems, the inept idiots running JP. I despair.

outofit (12/05/2010 13:09:21)
Out of the Fry-ing pan…
The sorry tale of ineptitude, incompetence, stupidity, tunnel vision and personal greed of directors continues.
There is only one end to this tragedy and that’s the final shameful destruction of once proud newspapers, of local democracy, of a truly great industry.
Fry and his lackeys should be charged with criminal negligence.
If this was China they’d be put up a wall and shot!
A couple of my previous comments have been pulled after complaints of personal attack.
I expect this will go the same way.

disillusioned (12/05/2010 13:33:15)
The bosses have us over a barrel. Those of us who have still got a job haven’t had a pay rise in years – and that’s because they know there is nowhere for us to go for new jobs. They were happy to line their own pockets when the going was good but as soon as the going gets tough they seem to forget about the workforce – without whom they would have nothing. Standards are slipping because there’s no incentive to work hard anymore. There are great journalists where I work but they all lack motivation. Not surprising really – I wish I never got into the business in the first place, that’s how bad it is where I work.

JP Worker (12/05/2010 14:13:39)
Mr Fry awarded himself £1m and the MDs recently took nice bonuses. Do the maths…

Ex-journo, extremely cross (12/05/2010 15:26:00)
So Johnston Press are swinging the axe again? Good grief. Their previous axe-swinging exploits have already reduced newspapers that were once mighty oaks to stunted, battered stumps… I left the profession I loved because of their utter disregard for quality and truth. I honestly don’t know where it will end. Monkeys sitting in a bare shed with photocopiers, photostating press releases and then handing over to pigeons for the deliveries, perhaps? Come on JP, cuts are not the answer. Readers – and advertisers – respond to real news and you’re not going to get that with monkeys, nor with one hacked off hack (or unpaid work-ex), typing his/her fingers off for a pittance. Sell the company to someone who gives a…monkey’s.

Oh dear (12/05/2010 16:12:34)
Well we tried to tell them, but did they listen? Nope, and the results are starting to show.
Cut back the salaries of a few of the overpaid idiots running JP and that might help.
Then re-hire all the people they got rid of and get the papers back to being good quality reads, rather than rushed together publications thanks to lack of numbers and a totally inept editorial system.
That’s all wishful thinking though, as it will only get worse as their decisions continue to baffle us.

Scribbler (12/05/2010 17:18:58)
What really annoys me about this company is that even during the good times, when it was making a mint with property advertising, it was shouting about “tight control of costs”. Then it had a mad rush of blood to the head and bought a load of papers it didn’t need. Now we’re paying the price while they continue to line their pockets.

Shoulder-Shugger (12/05/2010 17:19:53)
Well it’s silly season again … and I don’t mean the management for once.
There are always redundancies made around June, and have been for several years now. It then goes quiet for a few months, then they kill off a few more just before Christmas.
Many departments have already been cut back to the bare minimum, so more centralising and hope for the best is what I predict.

thejudge (12/05/2010 17:51:23)
6 years ago the position I held was made redundant. We had record sales and profits brought about by team work from all departments and people who were proud of their newspapers. (We did not always agree but had the sense to take part professionally)and reap the rewards. SCRIBBLER you have hit the nail on the head I wholeheartedly agree. Want to get the best out of your Company JP…..re invest in the quality you had then……I guess you won’t though.

Ex-JP pieman (13/05/2010 10:12:10)
This company is getting beyond a joke. What other excuses can they possibly come out with to justify making cuts and reducing the quality of their papers even further? “FINISH OF X FACTOR DENTED REVENUE” cites chief executive?

Hub fan (13/05/2010 10:17:46)
To Subbing furious: Er, it’s “it’s do the math” – NOT
‘its do the math.’ Idiot.