Northcliffe freezes wages as Newsquest asks staff to take unpaid leave

Northcliffe told staff yesterday that employees across all its 130 papers would have their pay frozen, except for newcomers passing probation periods, trainees becoming senior, and anyone being promoted.

It follows similar moves at Guardian News and Media, Johnston Press, Newsquest, and Trinity Mirror.

The freeze, which affects staff at titles such as the Hull Daily Mail, the Nottingham Evening Post, and the Leicester Mercury, will not be reviewed until February 2010.

Separately, rival regional publisher Newsquest, owned by US company Gannett, is reported to be asking all its staff, totalling more than 6,000, to take a week's unpaid leave in a bid to cut costs.

Newsquest's management have already agreed to the unpaid leave and it is believed a similar request will be made to all staff in the near future.

The move has not been confirmed by Newsquest, which publishes titles such as The Northern Echo, the Lancashire Telegraph, the Dorset Echo and the Evening Times in Glasgow.

Gannett, which owns 85 daily newspapers across the US, including USA Today, has already imposed a week's unpaid leave on its 31,000 US staff in a bid to stave off jobs cuts.

Craig Dubow, the chairman, president and chief executive of Gannett, said at the time: "Most of our US employees -- including myself and all other top executives -- will be furloughed for the equivalent of one week in the first quarter. We sincerely hope this minimizes the need for any layoffs going forward."