Mirror publisher Reach cutting 450 jobs to slash costs

The group is aiming to cut costs by 5% to 6% in 2024, on top of savings of up to 6% in 2023.

Around 450 jobs are being axed at Daily Mirror publisher Reach (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Archive)

Around 450 jobs are being axed at Daily Mirror publisher Reach as the group looks to slash costs further.

The company – which also owns the Express newspapers, the Daily Star and regional newspapers across the UK, including the Manchester Evening News – said the job losses come under plans to trim operating costs by 5%-6% in 2024.

It is already cutting costs by up to 6% this year and previously announced two rounds of job cuts in January and March, with around 330 redundancies already made so far in 2023.

The new cuts will affect around 10% of its 4,500 total workforce, mostly across its national titles, with journalist, commercial and some print roles set to go by the end of the year.

The group said the extra savings will help it invest in boosting its online offering.

It’s essential we set ourselves up to win, by making our operations suited to an increasingly fast-paced, competitive and customer-focused digital world

Reach chief executive Jim Mullen

The firm is also battling against a slump in the online and print newspaper advertising market, with its digital revenues hit by Facebook and other large media platforms moving to de-prioritise news.

It is understood Reach is looking to move closer to a single seven-day publishing operation, meaning a shift towards one team working across each publication’s daily and Sunday titles.

Chief executive Jim Mullen said: “Our industry has a history of change and the future will undoubtedly involve yet more.

“That’s why it’s essential we set ourselves up to win, by making our operations suited to an increasingly fast-paced, competitive and customer-focused digital world.”

He added: “Hard work over the last few years means we have established ourselves as a leading digital publisher.

“But there’s more to do and today is about organising our business to deliver against that challenge.”