Union challenges publisher over potential job cuts

The National Union of Journalists has challenged Reach plc to rule out further cuts to its journalist workforce during 2026.

The union attended the publisher's Annual General Meeting yesterday and handed an open letter to shareholders urging them to support investment in quality journalism.

Last year saw more than 300 journalists lose their jobs in what Reach described as its "biggest-ever" restructure.

The NUJ's Reach group chapel says it urged senior management to put a moratorium on further cuts this year, but the request was refused.

In the letter handed to shareholders, the chapel warned that the success of the group's new digital subscription rollout depended on the "brilliant, quality journalism" produced by its editorial staff.

It stated: "Last year saw more than 300 skilled and hard-working journalists made redundant from Reach plc to hack out cost in the face of continuing declining revenues.

"This meant bigger workloads for those remaining - and less scope to create the content which is most likely to win new subscribers.

"The NUJ hopes that you, as shareholders, will recognise that further cuts to diminishing numbers of Reach editorial workers will be counterproductive."

During the meeting, NUJ representatives asked the board how much of the companies 5-6pc cost reductions earmarked for this year is likely to come from editorial redundancies.

Chief executive Piers North responded saying: "We will always continue to look at our cost base, and our people are our biggest cost."

The union also highlighted the closure of two of Reach’s three print sites this year, asking how long the board thinks the company will still be producing newspapers "at scale."

Piers said the company would continue to service its print audience as best it can, while chief financial officer Darren Fisher said the sites, in Watford and Cardonald, "weren’t being fully utilised anymore."

The group chapel's letter can be read in full below.  Reach plc declined to comment further.

Dear Shareholder

As in many previous years, we welcome you as you attend this year’s AGM.

The challenges facing journalism in the UK – and around the world – have never been greater. We all need strong media businesses to allow journalists to thrive as a crucial part of our democracy and way of life.

The rise of digital publishing has brought vast audiences for Reach, but it has also outsourced control of the business in key ways to the big UK tech companies. They have sucked out the advertising spend for themselves leaving digital income in pennies against the pounds that Reach enjoys with its newspapers.

The NUJ therefore welcomed the initiative of incoming CEO Piers North to pursue the rapid introduction of digital subscriptions. We believe that as a business proposition, this will in part wrest online income back to the company’s coffers and away from the likes of Google and Facebook.

But to be a success, the company needs continued brilliant, quality and creative journalism that can capture and inspire readers. For this it needs to ensure that its journalists are confident, feel supported and valued and have the space to produce their best work.

Last year saw more than 300 skilled and hard-working journalists made redundant from Reach plc to hack out cost in the face of continuing declining revenues. This meant bigger workloads for those remaining - and less scope to create the content which is most likely to win new subscribers.

It would be foolish and foolhardy to believe that AI can be the saviour. It should only ever be a useful tool to enable journalists to do their best work.

The NUJ hopes that you, as shareholders, will recognise that further cuts to diminishing numbers of Reach editorial workers will be counterproductive.

As a Union, we asked senior management to put a moratorium this year on further mass job losses - but they refused. We hope you as investors will share our concern that the new business case for digital subscriptions will be hobbled if more cuts come in 2026.

If you think so, perhaps you can speak to directors today about your concerns?

Thank you and, as ever, good wishes!