A total of 59 journalists' jobs and a further 19 non-editorial roles are set to go in Liverpool, North Wales and the North-West as a result of a "major restructure" by Trinity Mirror.

The announcement, which was made to staff at 2pm this afternoon, affects a series of daily and weekly titles across the Merseyside and North-West regions including the Liverpool Echo and Daily Post, North Wales Daily Post, Huddersfield Daily Examiner, Chester Chronicle and Southport Visitor.

Traditional demarcation lines between reporters and photographers are to be scrapped and the newsrooms of the two Liverpool dailies merged in what the company is calling a "revolutionary" plan to safeguard the future of the titles in the face of the economic downturn.

The plans partially mirror what has already been implemented by Trinity at its Midlands titles and proposals announced earlier this month for its North-East portfolio.

The largest number of editorial job losses will occur at the company's main regional centre at Old Hall Street, Liverpool, where 43 out of 175 existing posts will go.

There will also be eight job losses at the Llandudo Junction centre which publishes the North Wales Daily Post, four at the Examiner's head office in Huddersfield, and a further four at the Chester centre, which publishes the Chester Chronicle and a number of associated weeklies.

In addition, 16 van drivers' posts and three transport supervisor roles are being lost in Huddersfield as a result of a plan to switch the Daily Examiner to overnight printing.

A separate report on the Huddersfield proposals can be read here. HoldtheFrontPage also has a further report on a decision to scrap the Saturday edition of the Liverpool Daily Post.

In a statement issued at 2.45pm today, Trinity Mirror said the "revolutionary" editorial plan was designed to secure a "strong long-term future" for its key newspaper and online brands.

"These actions have been taken in response to the current challenging trading conditions but also reflect Trinity Mirror’s ongoing development as a multi-platform media organisation," it said.

"The new editorial plan will mean that all journalists' jobs will alter to some extent, with traditional reporter and photographer roles being replaced by multimedia journalists, who will take photographs, shoot video and create unique written web content, as well as writing for the newspapers.

"They will be directly managed by a highly skilled team of multimedia desk staff and will receive extensive training to equip them to perform the new roles."

Trinity Mirror North West and North Wales regional managing director, Sara Wilde, said: "We are determined to carry on producing the vibrant, entertaining and informative newspaper and online brands which are at the heart of the communities they serve in the North West and North Wales.

"To do that in the digital age, and in such difficult trading conditions, has entailed taking some very radical steps, which will revolutionise the way in which we produce our newspapers and websites.

"However, we believe the changes we are introducing mean we can do that while maintaining the high quality products our readers have come to expect."

The company said it was committed to achieving as many of the redundancies as possible on a voluntary basis and has entered into a period of consultation with all affected staff today.

National Union of Journalists' members at the Liverpool titles have already vowed to fight any proposals for compulsory redundancies or pay cuts.

Liverpool Daily Post and Echo FoC Mike Chapple said: "We are gravely concerned about the implications of so many job losses. The number announced was far greater than we anticipated.

"Current staffing levels on a day to day basis were already a cause for concern in terms of producing the high quality of journalism that is so important to us and our readers.

"We acknowledge the company's commitment to no compulsory redundancies but rest assured the chapel will be working hard to ensure the best deal for those who stay and those who go."