Express Newspapers looks for fresh savings as it misses redundancy target (original) (raw)

Express Newspapers is set to explore new cost-cutting measures after it failed to find sufficient savings from its redundancy process.

MediaGuardian.co.uk understands that despite the publisher aiming to axe more than 80 staff and casual journalists, mainly from the subediting departments of the Daily Express and Sunday Express, just 52 have so far come forward, forcing it to seek savings elsewhere.

Staff working on the titles believe the publisher is more than a million pounds short of its savings target of £2.5m.

A memo sent by the Express Newspapers managing editor, Ian Parrott, to staff said further savings would be sought in a number of ways, including negotiating contracts with suppliers. He also outlined how the voluntary redundancy process remained open.

"[W]e have not achieved all the cost savings that we wanted through the redundancies that have taken place to date," Parrott wrote.

"You will all be aware that the general economic climate for newspapers has not got any better since we started the recent changes. Cost savings therefore remain essential to protect the interests of the papers."

The memo went on to dismiss suggestions that the group had detailed plans for further redundancies across the four newspaper titles, which include the Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday.

A meeting of the Express Newspapers chapel of the National Union of Journalists, attended by more than 100 members yesterday, passed a resolution to call on the management to halt the redundancy exercise.

This followed 28 staff and long-term casual employees leaving voluntarily, three retirements, three compulsory redundancies and a further 18 casuals due to leave in the next two weeks.

Express Newspapers had not returned a request for comment by the time of publication.

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