Reach, the publisher of the Mirror, Express and Star newspapers, has announced a sweeping restructure that could see 600 jobs affected, including more than 300 in editorial. The move comes as the company seeks to adapt to falling revenues, changing audience habits and the rapid impact of artificial intelligence on online traffic.
Editorial Cuts and New Hires
On Monday the company confirmed that 321 editorial roles were at risk as part of its shake-up, alongside further cuts across commercial and production teams. It follows Reach’s decision in July to create a centralised sports hub serving national and regional titles, a change already threatening more than 100 positions. Despite the losses, the company says it plans to create 135 new roles, with priority given to those facing redundancy.
David Higgerson, Reach’s chief content officer, described the changes as “the biggest reorganisation we’ve ever undertaken”. He said the group’s focus would be on producing more live news, video and audio content: “The changes we are seeing in the landscape demand a wholesale change in how we operate and how we tell stories.”
Push Towards Digital Subscriptions
Reach’s new chief executive, Piers North, has signalled a stronger push into subscriptions as traditional advertising revenues weaken. Reporting half-year results in July, North highlighted a 3.4% fall in revenues but said paid digital products would now be a “serious focus”. The company has been slow to follow rivals such as The Sun and MailOnline, which in recent years launched paywalls to supplement advertising. In 2023, Reach introduced a metered paywall on the Manchester Evening News and its Manchester United app.
Industry Pressures and AI Threat
The company’s strategy comes as publishers face mounting pressure from AI-driven search tools, which can reduce traffic to news websites by as much as 90%. Products such as Google’s AI Overviews are increasingly providing users with answers without directing them to source content, forcing publishers to rethink their models.
Union Condemns Job Losses
The National Union of Journalists said the latest cuts would further damage staff morale. Chris Morley, the NUJ’s national coordinator for Reach, warned: “The thought that any media business can afford to shed hundreds of talented journalists to secure its future makes you wonder what sort of future that will be.”
Reach has endured several rounds of cuts in recent years, with close to 800 roles axed in 2023 alone — the largest annual reduction in the UK newspaper industry for decades. At the end of last year, the company employed just over 3,500 staff, down from nearly 5,500 at its peak in 2018.
