DC Thomson is set to make around 300 redundancies and close titles as part of a £10m savings plan.
The publisher runs four regional dailies: Aberdeen’s Press & Journal and Evening Express, Dundee titles The Courier and the Evening Telegraph, as well as the Sunday Post and magazines including The Beano and Puzzler.
The company has offices in Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Colchester and London.
Rebecca Miskin, chief executive of DC Thomson’s media business, told staff “significant changes” were being announced which would include job losses and closures.
“We have today announced significant changes to our company, which involve the reshaping of our media portfolio and the simplification of the underlying structure.
“The transformation strategy already in place was addressing these fundamental industry shifts, but the need to change has been massively accelerated and magnified by the current economic crisis.
“We will focus on specific connected and purpose driven communities which enjoy the biggest potential for deep audience engagement and long-term growth.
“Unfortunately, we have also had to make difficult decisions concerning those brands and activities which sit outside these growth areas.
“We will be announcing the closure of some well-loved titles, as well as the cessation of some commercial activities - this will mean losing some valued colleagues, something we deeply regret.”
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.
Hold The Front Page reported that Frank O’Donnell, editor-in-chief of the Aberdeen dailies, is understood to have been among those told their job is at risk.
The BBC also stated that sources within DC Thomson described the atmosphere within the company as “grim”, saying senior editors are “believed to have been angered by the handling of staff redundancies, having not been consulted on plans to axe jobs”.
It has been reported around half of the redundancies will come from Colchester-based Aceville, a magazine publisher acquired in 2018, while other magazine titles will also close.
Other titles understood to be closing are Animal Planet Kids, Living, Animals and You, Shout and Platinum.
Staff have been told that news titles will not close.
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