Mirror publisher Reach to axe 550 jobs as advertising dries up
Mirror publisher Reach today said it would axe 550 jobs as it seeks to overhaul its business as advertising revenue sank by more than a quarter over lockdown.
The newspaper giant said the axed jobs, which account for around 12 per cent of its workforce, would help save £35m annually, at a one-off cost of £20m.
Reach made the announcement as it revealed second quarter revenue sank 27.5 per cent during the pandemic, while June advertising spend dropped 23.9 per cent.
The huge drop in revenue came despite Reach passing 2.5m customer registrations for the first time. That led it to increase its target to have 10m registered readers by 2022, up from 7m.
“Structural change in the media sector has accelerated during the pandemic and this has resulted in increased adoption of our digital products,” chief executive Jim Mullen said.
“However, due to reduced advertising demand, we have not seen commensurate increases in digital revenue.”
“To meet these challenges and to accelerate our customer value strategy, we have completed plans to transform the business and are ready to begin the process of implementation. Regrettably, these plans involve a reduction in our workforce and we will ensure all impacted colleagues are treated with fairness and respect throughout the forthcoming consultation process.”
Reach, which also publishes the Daily Express among other titles, will begin a 45-day consultation on the job cuts. It said the redundancies would allow it to put all but its C-level management back on 100 per cent of their salaries.
More to follow.