THREE hundred employees at DC Thomson will be made redundant, the publisher has confirmed.
It emerged on Wednesday that jobs would be lost at the company as they tried to plug a £10 million gap by “reshaping its portfolio”.
The majority of jobs are set to be lost in the company’s magazine sector with numerous titles closing, it is understood.
A spokesperson for the publisher said: “We are having to make the difficult decision that 300 colleagues will be made redundant across the company, with around half coming from the closure of titles acquired from Colchester-based Aceville.
“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.”
According to STV, it is understood that staff at the Beano will have to reapply for their jobs.
The publisher owns a number of newspapers including The People’s Friend, The Beano, Bunkered and Puzzler.
It also owns various newspapers including The Courier, The Press and Journal and The Sunday Post.
The spokesperson added: “By resetting DC Thomson’s media business we can focus on the communities which have potential for sustainable growth.
“We will be closing a number of our Dundee-based magazines including Living, Platinum, Evergreen, Shout, Animals & You and Animal Planet. All print titles acquired from Aceville in Colchester will close.”
Meanwhile the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has vowed to protect the members facing redundancies.
Nick McGowan-Lowe, organiser at the NUJ’s Scottish Office, 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.”
Senior editors are believed to have been angered by the handling of staff redundancies, having not been consulted on the plans.
The BBC also reports that Frank O’Donnell, editor-in-chief of The Press & Journal, has been told his job is “at risk”.
The publisher has offices in Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow, alongside operations in Colchester and London.
