Dozens of journalists said their farewells at the Daily Record and Sunday Mail newspapers over the weekend, as part of restructuring which – say publishers, Trinity Mirror – involve a total of 85 posts going.
In a statement issued by Trinity, some 49 journalists have taken voluntary redundancy with a further 11 posts identified for compulsory redundancy, with one already gone and the remaining ten set to go this month and next.
It's understood the company is not replacing five fixed-term contracts and the number of casual staff has also been reduced by 20 positions.
A spokesperson for the company told allmediascotland: “We have worked constructively and sensibly with the National Union of Journalists to complete this reorganisation.”
Meanwhile, the NUJ’s Scottish Organiser, Paul Holleran, told allmediascotland.com: “There is no doubt that some people who chose to apply for voluntary redundancy maybe felt they had no choice, and we will continue to fight against the remaining posts identified for compulsory redundancy. My understanding was that thet were to have been gone already, so we need to take heart from their fate being at least deferred.”
He added: “Snce the original announcement, there has been the demise of the News of the World which has undoubtedly created a commercial opportunity for Trinity Mirror. We were originally expecting 93 posts to be going and I am sure the company has also listened to our protests – and those of others, including MSPs – since then.
“At a [union] chapel meeting on Friday, there were a lot of tears and there is still a lot of anger. Morale, I'd say, is really low, just as Trinity Mirror should be gearing up to take on News International. There was lots of applause too for those going.”
