PLANNED budget cuts at the Herald group of newspapers yesterday led to an announcement of compulsory redundancies.
Morale at the Evening Times took a hit after lunch yesterday when it became apparent that production staff – said to be six – were facing the sack, following a reported breakdown in an intended switch of sub-editors, etc from the Evening Times to its sister title, The Herald.
The group is seeking a budget cut of between two and three million pounds and already some staff have been let go with voluntary redundancy packages.
But there is said to be more staff at The Herald wanting to go, and a switch of staff from the Evening Times would certainly help make that happen.
But it is understood that when it came to the Evening Times and The Herald agreeing exactly who should move across, there was a difference of opinion – meaning those staff ‘caught in the middle’ facing ‘the axe’.
The National Union of Journalist’s stated position is ‘No compulsory redundancies’. The NUJ chapel at the Evening Times is meeting today to discuss what to do next.
