The union is warning that the proposed cuts at Newsquest titles in North and East London will put the quality of the papers at risk.

Titles affected by the plans include the Waltham Forest Guardian, Wanstead and Woodford Guardian, and Epping Forest Guardian.

The union claims that the restructure will result in 12 positions being made redundant across the division’s titles, although it is unclear whether any will be lost through compulsory redundancy.

Journalists expressed shock at the proposed cutbacks at an NUJ chapel held last week.

NUJ assistant organiser Don Mackglew said: "This is a savage cut to the already overworked, stressed and underpaid journalists that work for these titles. Only recently the father of the chapel raised concerns with the MD about journalists' workloads.

"It is clear that they are not interested in their employees' wellbeing, but only interested in saving money. The new proposals will certainly increase the workload for the remainder of staff and affect the quality of journalism across all the titles."

The union is formally recognised by Newsquest at its Highams Park centre in East London, where the majority of editorial affected staff work.

The NUJ is now holding meetings with management to discuss the proposals.

Dan Mason, group editor of Newsquest's North and East London division was approached for comment but was unavailable at the time of publication.