Around eight editorial jobs are expected to go at Newsquest Bradford, publisher of the daily Telegraph and Argus.

An official announcement to staff about the plans is expected by the end of today and follows the departure of managing director Charlie Birrell last week.

This development comes after Newsquest North East announced last week it wanted to axe 17 editorial posts at its centre in Darlington, where it publishes The Northern Echo and sister weekly titles.

Bob Smith, Father of the NUJ Chapel, said: "At the moment, we've had nothing confirmed but on Monday the group editor Perry Austin-Clarke pulled all the editorial staff together and said they were looking for job cuts equivalent to seven or eight positions.

"There will be others outside editorial but we don't know how they will fall.

"We're opposed to compulsory redundancies – at a chapel meeting on Tuesday we voted unanimously to ballot for industrial action if our members are threatened with compulsory redundancy."

Other Newsquest Bradford titles include the Keighley News, Craven Herald, Ilkley Gazette and Wharfedale Observer.

The NUJ says that two vacant reporters' posts and one production journalist's have already been left unfilled with these new expected redundancies leaving the editorial workforce at 60pc of its strength eight years ago.

Mr Austin-Clarke was unavailable for comment.

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