Express Newspapers has been forced to extend the deadline for its voluntary redundancy scheme after just 41 staff took up the offer.
The publisher of the Daily Express and Daily Star announced in July that it would be cutting staff numbers by 30%, or 200 posts out of its 650-strong workforce.
The publisher is aiming to save £10m
The cuts will affect full time and casual staff at its Northern headquarters in Broughton, near Preston, as well as its offices in London and Glasgow.
But according to a report in the Guardian, the publisher received just 41 applications for the redundancy scheme by the end of August deadline.
If more do not come forward by the new deadline tomorrow, over 100 staff are set to face compulsory redundancy.
When staff were originally given the news – which aims to save the company £10m, group editorial director Paul Ashford, wrote: “I am sorry to advise you of these measures. However, we are faced with a challenging commercial environment in the print publishing market and it is vital to make such painful but necessary structural changes now to properly ensure the longevity of the business.”
