Three hundred jobs to go at publisher DC Thomson

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DC Thomson papers 8 February

Image caption,

DC Thomson publishes magazines and newspapers including the P&J and The Courier

About 300 staff at DC Thomson will be made redundant, sources within the company have been told.

It emerged on Wednesday that jobs would be lost at the media company as they tried to plug a £10m gap by "reshaping its portfolio".

The largest number of jobs will be lost in the company's magazine sector with numerous titles closing.

Around half of the redundancies will come from Aceville in Colchester, a magazine publisher acquired in 2018.

Scottish-based magazine titles are also affected as are staff at DC Thomson's newspapers which include The Courier, The Press and Journal and The Sunday Post.

Staff were told their jobs were at risk in a series of meetings on Wednesday before being told the number of redundancies on Thursday morning.

Titles understood to be closing are Animal Planet Kids, Living, Animals and You, teen magazine Shout and Platinum, a title for women which was only launched in 2019.

Staff have been told that news titles will not close.

Sources within DC Thomson described the atmosphere within the newsroom as "grim".

Senior editors are believed to have been angered by the handling of staff redundancies, having not been consulted on plans to axe jobs.

Image caption,

DC Thomson's Meadowside building in Dundee opened in 1906

The editor-in-chief of the Press & Journal and Evening Express in Aberdeen, Frank O'Donnell, has been told his job is "at risk".

It is understood jobs at risk within the company's newspaper staff include journalists, photographers, senior management and editors.

DC Thomson also produces magazines and comics including The People's Friend, Beano, and Puzzler.

It has offices across Scotland, including in Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow, alongside operations in Colchester and London.

A further update is expected from the company in the coming hours.

'Loss of valued colleagues'

On Thursday, Rebecca Miskin, chief executive of DC Thomson's media business, said "significant changes" were being announced.

"We will be announcing the closure of some well-loved titles, as well as the cessation of some commercial activities," she said.

"This will mean losing some valued colleagues, something we deeply regret.

"These moves are vital to set us up to thrive in the future and to respond to the difficult economic environment we are in.

"Until discussions have taken place with colleagues, we aren't able to comment on the number of people or the titles which will be impacted."

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