Reach has told staff that it plans to create a “new sport structure,” placing dozens of jobs at risk.
The publisher explained that the proposal removed duplication, so that journalists would work across multiple platforms and publications.
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said that it believed that up to 104 roles were at risk of redundancy. The actual number of job losses is likely to be substantially lower, with staff being told that around 90 workers will be transferred to comparable roles in the new structure, with 11 vacancies created in a new sports hub.
According to the NUJ, dedicated correspondents covering Liverpool, Manchester United, and London football clubs would be halved and Content Editors could be reduced from 26 to 16.
Teams in Scotland and Ireland are not affected.
“We are changing the structure of our sports teams to reduce duplication and work more efficiently, while ensuring dedicated resources to deliver exclusive content, rooted in the communities we serve,” explained Chief Digital Publisher, David Higgerson.
“For example we will continue to have dedicated writers covering our most popular football clubs, as well as for a range of specialist sports including tennis, golf, and F1, delivering content across our portfolio.”
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Union General Secretary, Laura Davison believed that the cuts would mean more reliance on Reach’s in-house AI tool, Guten, which rewrites stories to match the style of different titles.
“The NUJ is deeply concerned by the impact these cuts will have on staff workload and morale. Either fewer staff will be expected to do more work, or Reach is seeking to use AI to fill the resulting gap,” said Laura Davison, NUJ General Secretary.
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“The replication of content across Reach’s titles will mean less localised coverage and less media diversity. Ultimately, this results in a poorer product. The distinction between different Reach titles will blur with replicated articles less tailored to readers’ interests. An AI mimic would be no substitute for skilled journalists.
“Reach is a profitable company – and this is down to journalists’ hard work. Instead of cutting jobs, Reach should invest in its staff and quality journalism.”
A 30-day consultation will begin next week.
