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Publisher plans further cuts at newspapers bought six months ago

Further planned job cuts have been announced at a series of newspapers purchased by Newsquest six months ago.

The regional publisher has confirmed it is in consultation with four distribution representatives based in Mold, North Wales, over possible redundancy.

Under the plan, distribution control of the titles bought by Newsquest from NWN would move to Southampton.

Since the purchase in September, Newsquest has closed the Chester edition of former NWN daily The Leader, as well as the Frodsham & Helsby edition of the weekly Chester Standard.

NWN Media

Up to 20 roles were put at risk in the advertisement creation department in Mold when Newsquest announced in November it was switching production to Oxford.

And in January, editorial staff in North Wales were also invited to apply for voluntary redundancy, although Newsquest declined to mention how many redundancies it was aiming to make through the programme.

A Newsquest spokesman said: “The company is continuing to assess areas of where the business can be improved.

“This has included the proposed centralisation of the free distribution management to Newsquest’s centre in Southampton.”

Papers in the former NWN stable include The Leader, as well as weekly titles the Chester Standard, Ellesmere Port & Neston Standard, Oswestry & Border Counties Advertizer, Rhyl Journal, Powys County Times, Denbighshire Free Press, Whitchurch Herald, North Wales Pioneer and North Wales Chronicle.

The Midland News Association confirmed last month it is planning to purchase the Shrewsbury AdMag from Newsquest, another former NWN title.

A number of advertising staff are understood to be facing redundancy as a result of that move, and the MNA confirmed it was in consultation with some Newsquest staff, as well as its own employees, who are affected.

4 comments

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  • March 12, 2018 at 9:49 am
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    Hands up anyone surprised by this latest NQ announcement of job losses, staff cuts and closures?
    No one?
    Exactly!
    I’ll say this for NQ, they’re consistent

    Editorial, advertising now distribution jobs all on the line in the name of continuous business improvement is par for the course as whenever NQ move in,existing staff are moved out,
    I just hope many of those offered voluntary redundancy took it, that way at least they’d be in control of their fate unlike the latest staffers being lined up to face the firing squad anytime soon.

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  • March 12, 2018 at 12:19 pm
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    Aaah, it’s all part of the process of improving the business. So that’s all right, then.

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  • March 12, 2018 at 1:30 pm
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    And oh yeah, people in Southampton really understand the North Wales patch, don’t they? It’ll be even worse when they do the same thing to the Cumbrian Newspapers distribution net work….

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  • March 12, 2018 at 4:24 pm
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    To be fair to NQ they do let HFW out to give the news unlike some other groups whose CEO only appears when there’s boasting or tub thumping needs doing

    It’s still bad news for the NWN lot though as we know how it’ll all end

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