DC Thomson, a family-owned media company based in Dundee, Scotland, has announced that it will lay off approximately 300 employees as part of a reorganisation of its portfolio to close a £10 million gap.
The redundancies will mainly come from the company’s magazine sector, with numerous titles being closed, along with jobs at DC Thomson’s newspapers including The Courier, The Press and Journal and The Sunday Post. According to sources within the organisation, the atmosphere in the newsroom is “dark.”
Due to the 2018 acquisition of Aceville in Colchester, approximately half of the redundancies will occur in this office, and senior editors are believed to be angered by the manner in which staff redundancies were handled, as they were not consulted on plans to eliminate jobs. It is understood that journalists, photographers, senior management, and editors are among the newspaper employees at risk.
DC Thomson publishes numerous notable magazines and comics, such as The People’s Friend, The Beano, and Puzzler, but the staff has been assured that news publications will not be among those shut down. The company has offices across Scotland, including in Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow, alongside operations in Colchester and London.
The public are expecting an update from DC Thomson in the coming hours.
DC Thomson, a family-owned media publisher based in Dundee, Scotland, plans to lay off approximately 300 employees due to a £10 million gap in their portfolio. This decision was reached following a series of meetings on Wednesday, and the staff was informed of the layoffs on Thursday morning.
The redundancies will mainly affect staff within the company’s magazine sector with numerous titles being closed, alongside staff at DC Thomson’s newspapers including The Courier, The Press and Journal and The Sunday Post. Senior editors are angered by the lack of consultation surrounding job cuts.
About half of the layoffs will result from the 2018 acquisition of Aceville in Colchester by DC Thomson. In the newspaper industry, it is believed that journalists, photographers, senior management, and editors are at risk of losing their jobs.
Despite the closure of a number of magazine publications, DC Thomson has reassured employees that news publications will not be affected. The company has offices in Dundee, Aberdeen, and Glasgow in addition to its operations in Colchester and London. DC Thomson is anticipated to issue an update in the coming hours.
