Three hundred jobs to go at publisher DC Thomson

Three hundred employees at DC Thomson will be made redundant, the Dundee-based publisher has confirmed.

The firm said on Wednesday that it had to "reshape its portfolio" to plug a £10m gap.

As well as shedding almost 19% of its workforce, it will close a number of Dundee-based publications including teen magazine Shout.

About half of the job losses will come from the closure of titles acquired from Colchester-based Aceville in 2018.

A spokesperson for DC Thomson, which employs about 1,600 people across the UK, said it was a "difficult decision".

"A huge amount of work goes into the creation of our titles and despite being loved, some titles and brands are finding it harder to be profitable," they added.

"We are resetting DC Thomson's media business to focus on high growth, and sustainable growth."

The firm confirmed the closure of magazines including Living, Platinum, Evergreen, Shout, Animals & You and Animal Planet, which are all produced in Dundee.

"All our flagship brands remain integral to our future," they said.

DC Thomson also publishes newspapers including The Press and Journal, The Sunday Post and The Courier.

Staff were told their jobs were at risk in a series of meetings on Wednesday before the number of redundancies was confirmed on Thursday morning.

They have been told that news titles will not close but it is understood that jobs are at risk among journalists, photographers, senior management and editors.

The editor-in-chief of the Press & Journal and Evening Express in Aberdeen, Frank O'Donnell, has been told his job is "at risk".

Sources within DC Thomson described the atmosphere within the newsroom as "grim".

A spokesperson for the firm said: "As part of the transformation, we are reviewing changes to the structure of our newsrooms to respond to economic pressures and better serve our local communities.

"Roles and responsibilities at all levels within the team are being reviewed. It would be inappropriate to comment on individual people at this time.

"The Scottish communities, particularly in the north and north east, are core to DC Thomson and we have a number of thriving businesses in the region."

Senior editors are believed to have been angered by the handling of staff redundancies, having not been consulted on plans to axe jobs.

Nick McGowan-Lowe, National Union of Journalists (NUJ) organiser for Scotland said: "These are brutal cuts, and we will robustly defend the jobs of our members.

"Our members are furious both with how the company has handled these redundancies and because they are seeking to make £10m cuts across the business after paying out £24m in dividends to shareholders last year.

"The jobs of hard-working journalists should not be sacrificed to pay the price of extravagant shareholder profits."

DC Thomson also produces magazines and comics including The People's Friend, Beano, and Puzzler.

It employs people across offices across Scotland, including in Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Moray and Glasgow, alongside operations in Colchester and London.

The news of the redundancies came as staff at two other Scottish newspapers faced job cuts.

The Times and The Sunday Times Scotland workers have been told about proposals to combine the newspapers into one seven-day operation.

It is not yet known how many positions this will affect.

All print publishers are struggling with the impact of changed reading habits and commuting patterns as well as big increases in their costs. DC Thomson is no exception.

As a news publisher, the family firm used to be known for its deep conservatism. But in the era of the internet, it has adapted and grown more of a reputation as a canny operator.

It continued to invest in its flagship titles while other Scottish newspapers cut costs and floundered. It shifted carefully to online publishing, limiting damage to print sales without giving too much away for free. And it used its deep pockets to diversify, into radio and genealogy, while sitting on a large investment fund.

Part of the successful formula is that executives and journalists stayed close to their customers. But insiders are questioning now whether the top team understands that customer base, or if they are following a familiar route of cost-cutting. The cuts announcement seems to have been dumped on editors, who would usually expect to be consulted.

The magazine sector has seen circulation fall away fast. The 40 print titles closing at DC Thomson, most of them at its Colchester office, cover hobbies, crafts, lifestyle and the trade press. DC Thomson understands magazines come and go, sometimes lasting for quite short periods. The Beano goes on, but a lot more are disappearing than are being set up.