A new press centre planned for the Birmingham Post and Mail and Coventry Evening Telegraph will prompt the loss of more than 90 jobs.

Around £60m is being invested in a new press hall at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham to replace Trinity Mirror's press facilities at Colmore Circus in Birmingham and Corporation Street, Coventry.

The new facility is expected to be operational in 2004 and means 92 jobs will be lost across the two sites, which currently employs 193 staff.

The losses will involve press, publishing and engineering staff and it is hoped they will be achieved through voluntary redundancies.

Announcing the changes, the company said it had spent months studying modern printing practices, and seeking advice from industry experts and suppliers of press equipment before reaching its decision on staffing levels.

Alistair Nee, regional managing director for the Midlands, said: "It is regrettable that our investment in the future should lead to redundancies, however the new print site is essential for ensuring the long-term success of our business and creates a modern state-of-the-art environment for publishing in the 21st century."

The Evening Mail, Birmingham Post, Sunday Mercury, Evening Telegraph and more than 30 weekly newspapers in the Midlands are printed at the two existing sites and will be transferred to Fort Dunlop when it becomes operational.

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