Independent News & Media to cut 90 jobs

by John Reynolds, mediaweek.co.uk 18-Nov-08, 12:15

LONDON - Independent News & Media (INM) is to axe about 90 jobs across The Independent and Independent on Sunday as part of a £10m cost-cutting drive across the group.

The group said the job cuts will affect all areas of the business, with the majority coming from editorial. The cut backs, due to be implemented by early 2009, come as INM, and other newspaper groups, battle a severe advertising downturn.

October's ABC figures saw The Independent on Sunday hit a record low, down 21.4% year on year, despite a high-profile, full-colour relaunch at the end of September. The Independent fared little better, plummeting 16.29% year on year to record an average circulation of just 201,019 copies.

Simon Kelner, managing director across the papers, said: "As a management team, we would have been irresponsible had we not reacted to the economic conditions affecting every media business in the world by looking to our cost base."

A statement from INM said it is also looking at outsourcing some areas of its business. Media Week reported on 4 November that the company is considering outsourcing the commercial operations of its UK newspapers to Daily Mirror owner, Mirror Group Newspapers.

INM, which already prints The Independent and The Independent on Sunday titles on the Daily Mirror's presses, told Media Week it was exploring a number of commercial opportunities with MGN, which previously held a major shareholding in INM UK.