Journalism jobs are set to be lost across the country as a regional publisher scales back its print production operation following a reduction in pagination.

Reach plc has confirmed it has opened a voluntary redundancy scheme to its story editors who work in production across the group’s regional titles.

It has not yet been established how many journalists across the country are affected, although it is understood the scheme is open to Reach story editors working for four different regional hubs around the UK.

The scheme comes as the group prepares to increase the amount of shared content found in its regional newspapers.

HTFP understands six roles out of 48 will be made redundant across the Midlands, where Reach publishes seven regional daily titles.  We have asked the group for a further breakdown of how other regions are affected.

In a memo to staff at the hubs, which has been seen by HTFP, Reach said the plan was “being driven by a reduction in pages and as a result workload”.

It stated: “Print revenues continue to decline and the rising price of materials and other inflationary pressures mean it is vital the business maintains careful control of its cost base.

“There have been reductions in pagination across the whole Regionals portfolio and as a result a reduction in workload.

“The company strategy is to grow large digital audiences of quality whilst maximising the value of print. We are seeing clear success in growing digital audiences, although we are keen that digital revenue growth should be accelerated.

“It is in line with company strategy regionally and nationally, that we seek to reduce costs around print publication where we can.”

The plan was announced to affected staff last Wednesday.  The company is hopeful that volunteers will account for the numbers of roles proposed for redundancy, eliminating the need for compulsory job losses.

Production staff designated ‘senior story editors’ are thought to be exempt from being able to apply for VR.

A question and answer section in the memo also noted there are “fewer people in our digital newsrooms as more are seconded to a new network initiative”, a reference to the recently-announced Network Newsroom scheme that will see Reach journalists work across multiple titles.

The memo added: “All newsrooms publish trending content as it is an important source of page views.

“Creating a centralised team to focus on this type of output means local centres can commit all existing resources to locally relevant content.

“Plus the potential to increase in shared content pages can offset the number of local pages for the majority of titles.”

HTFP has approached Reach for comment on the plans. The Q&A memo sent out to staff can be read below:

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Why are only story editors affected?

This restructure is being driven by a reduction in pages and as a result workload. There is no change to the four hub structure and edition management responsibilities remain the same.

What happens if conditions improve and the pages are re-introduced?

There is no plan to review the changes and it is impossible to predict how the current challenging conditions will develop in the medium to long term.

Why are we proposing to reduce staff numbers again?

Print revenues continue to decline and the rising price of materials and other inflationary pressures mean It is vital the business maintains careful control of its cost base.

How do we get the papers out if we have fewer staff?

There have been reductions in pagination across the whole regionals portfolio and as a result a reduction in workload.

Won’t this hasten the decline of print and damage us commercially?

The company strategy is to grow large digital audiences of quality whilst maximising the value of print. We are seeing clear success in growing digital audiences, although we are keen that digital revenue growth should be accelerated.

It is in line with company strategy regionally and nationally, that we seek to reduce costs around print publication where we can.

What if someone whose role is not at risk wants to go?

If someone wants to go whose role is not a risk of redundancy we would look at it. It would rely on us being able to achieve this without any detriment to overall business performance.

What happens if we don’t get enough volunteers?

We hope we do. However, we would then move into a selection procedure assessing individuals against specified criteria. Relevant performance reviews would be taken into account. The proposed selection matrix will be shared during consultation and you will have the opportunity to provide feedback on this prior to any scoring taking place. Should the proposal go ahead, it is our intention to retain the individuals with the skill set that meets the requirements of the operational needs of the business moving forward.

Will I have to work on different titles?

Not as a matter of course no. But production teams are virtual and there may be a slight change of working patterns which could see story editors occasionally being asked to work on titles from outside of their own regions in order to spread workloads more evenly across all regions.

If I am made redundant when would I leave?

It is proposed that individuals that are confirmed redundant will leave the business on 10 June. Some roles may be required to stay until a later date, this will be discussed with you during consultation. Any variation to this timing would be discussed as part of the consultation process.

There are fewer people in our digital newsrooms as more are seconded to a new network initiative, so print teams are having to source and write more copy to fill our titles. Has this been factored into the workload reductions outlined in this proposal?

All newsrooms publish trending content as it is an important source of pageviews. Creating a centralised team to focus on this type of output means local centres can commit all existing resources to locally relevant content. Plus the potential to increase in SCU pages can offset the number of local pages for the majority of titles.