LAST UPDATE | 28 Mar 2023

THE PUBLISHER OF the Irish Independent and the Sunday World is seeking voluntary redundancies from editorial staff as part of its shift to an online-first model.

Mediahuis Ireland owns the Irish Independent and Sunday Independent, the Sunday World, the Belfast Telegraph and a number of regional titles such as the Kerryman.

The company said today it is looking to reduce editorial staffing levels. It currently employs 350 editorial staff on the island of Ireland.

The voluntary redundancy programme is part of what Mediahuis is calling “Project Judo” – the creation of “a single unified journalistic organisation from which we can create and support different outputs, different formats and different platforms”, a statement said.

“As part of our ongoing digital transformation programme, and in light of challenging macro-economic influences and changing consumer behaviour, we have been undertaking a full strategic review of our editorial products, newsroom and production processes.

“We want to ensure optimal sharing of our content and our resources across our platforms, with less focus on process and more on journalism.”

The statement said the company needs “a single unified journalistic organisation from which we can create and support different outputs, different formats and different platforms.”

It added that the changes would also involve “being more efficient and by stopping some of the work that we have done in the past.

“We appreciate the impact this transition will have on those who may be directly affected, and we will do our utmost to communicate transparently while efficiently guiding our colleagues through this transition.

“Our priority is to protect the future of our journalism and our business and to ensure a sustainable publishing model as we accelerate our transition to a truly future-ready news organisation.”

Séamus Dooley, the Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists, said today that the union will be seeking clarification on the voluntary redundancy scheme.

He said: “It is not clear how many workers will be granted voluntary redundancy. We will be discussing the impact of the workforce and on the operation of the company of any redundancy scheme.

“It is important that workers are given time to consider the option of voluntary redundancy and that this is not a rushed programme.

“The NUJ would oppose any proposals for compulsory redundancies if the company were to seek to impose job cuts.”