The publisher of the Daily Record and Sunday Mail newspapers is expected to press ahead with a host of compulsory redundancies – despite registering a massive sales boost on Sunday following the closure of rival, the Scottish News of the World.
Scotland’s biggest-selling Sunday newspaper, the Sunday Mail, last weekend sold 60,000 extra copies with Trinity Mirror titles across Scotland up 92,000 copies in total, newly-released figures show.
However, a meeting between the National Union of Journalists and senior management yesterday – reported on allmediascotland – is understood to have ended with nine posts earmarked for certain compulsory redundancy and another six deferred.
Talks are expected to continue, though letters are to be issued today to all members of staff affected.
The move comes against the backdrop of a recent rise in sales. The Sunday Mail, which saw its print run increase by a quarter of million in a bid to capture former readers of the Scottish News of the World, proved to be the largest beneficiary among the Trinity Mirror stable last Sunday.
Elsewhere, an extra 18,000 copies of the Sunday Mirror – which saw its print run rise by one million UK-wide – were sold north of the Border, while The People recorded a 13,000 hike.
NUJ Scottish organiser, Paul Holleran, told allmediascotland: “They’re going ahead with nine definite compulsory redundancies and another six will be offered a month’s deferral and then there will be a review.
“There are still ongoing negotiations. We're having talks again today to try and make the case for all to be kept.”
He added: “We called on the company to halt all compulsory redundancies for six months to see what developments there are and they refused to do that.
“It seems bizarre considering the opportunity they've got. News International is in crisis and they should be promoting the Daily Record and the Sunday Mail rather than cutting jobs.”
Asked about the hike in sales registered over the weekend, Holleran added: “There response was, ‘We can't just go by one weekend’.
“But Trinity Mirror titles made an estimated £1 million profit off increased circulation and on that basis they shouldn't be making these jobs cuts.”
Last month, it was announced that 90 journalism posts were facing the axe at the two Trinity Mirror titles, with content from sister papers, the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror, used to fill gaps in content.
News of the nine compulsory redundancies set to come into effect next week comes on top of 46 applications for voluntary redundancy already received earlier this month.
