Trinity cuts in Midlands 'worse than feared'

Trinity Mirror has announced plans to close nine titles and cut 17 journalists’ jobs in the Midlands in a move that the NUJ says is even worse than it predicted.
The announcement follows last week's leak to the NUJ claiming eight weeklies were to be axed which prompted the union to call on the company to come clean about its plans to close some of its Midlands papers and reduce the frequency of the Birmingham Post.
The union said it had seen internal documents detailing plans to close titles.
According to HoldtheFrontPage: The titles facing closure are the Lichfield Post, Tamworth Times, Burton Trader, Walsall Observer, Bedworth Echo, Rugby Times, Loughborough Trader Xtra, Ashby Trader & Echo, and Coalville Echo.
It also says two editors jobs are at risk of redundancy as a result of a proposal to merge the Solihull News and Solihull Times and place these and the Sutton Coldfield News under a single editor.
According to an internal staff memo, seen by HTFP, the two titles will in future be run by a combined editorial content-gathering team, based at Trinity Mirror Midlands' main headquarters in Fort Dunlop, Birmingham.
The combined team will not include any traditional, single-skilled photographers, which the company has told staff "can no longer be commercially justified."
Trinity Mirror Weeklies editorial director Tony Lennox is to take early retirement as part of the cutbacks, HTFP reports
Jeremy Dear, NUJ general secretary, said: “For the last week Trinity Mirror managers refused to talk to staff about the changes they were planning. After accusing us of scare mongering they’ve now announced proposals that are even worse than anyone feared.
“Our members have already made their views clear about management’s refusal to be open about their plans, with calls across the Midlands for industrial action ballots.
“It’s time for the company to come clean about all its plans, including its intentions regarding the Birmingham Post and Mail. Trinity Mirror’s approach up to now has shown a disregard for staff and the Midlands communities it serves.”
NUJ Northern organiser Chris Morley, a former Birmingham Mail journalist, added: “Despite all the mud that has been slung by the managers over the last week, it is clear that nothing has happened to derail them from their course of action. The company has decided to cut loose communities and slash away at journalism on profit-making local titles.
“If they are willing to put the discussion into the proper dispute procedure and guarantee that there will be no job losses until that procedure is exhausted then we might be able to have some serious negotiations. But I very much doubt that’s what Trinity Mirror wants. Its only real concern is how quickly it can pull out of the towns it serves and cut away at quality on its remaining titles.”