More than 50 jobs at risk as Northcliffe cuts subs

More than 50 job losses are at risk across Northcliffe Media's regional newspaper titles as the company plans to largely dispense with copy-subs, HoldtheFrontPage reports today.

HTFP says Northcliffe reporters will in future be writing stories directly onto pages to pre-determined lengths, as is already the case at regional newspaper publishers Johnston Press and Archant.

The proposals, which were announced to staff today, will mean a wholesale reorganisation of the six production hubs set up across the group last year. Page planning and design subbing roles, originally moved to the hubs as part of the previous shake-up, are set to return to individual newspaper centres, HTFP says.

No overall figure has been put on the number of jobs set to disappear across the group, but it is thought to exceed 50.

• HTFP also reports that two Northcliffe dailes, the Western Daily Press and Western Morning News, are set to share feature content in a bid to create a 'common spine' for the two titles. Their news desks have already merged.