Guardian Media Group to cut 250 jobs in bid to break even within three years

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/mar/17/guardian-media-group-to-cut-250-jobs

Publisher of the Guardian and Observer says it hopes cuts, which include target of 100 editorial roles, will all be voluntary. The article explains Guardian Media Group is planning to cut 250 jobs including 100 in editorial  and to restructure the less profitable parts of the company in a bid to break even within three years. As part of plans to cut operating losses, which amounted to £58.6m in the year to the end of March, the Guardian and Observer publisher is to give up its ambitions to turn the Midlands Goods Shed, a former train depot, into a large events space and will restructure the less profitable parts of the business.In total, the UK workforce is expected to be cut by 18%, or 310 jobs, as about 60 positions in both commercial and editorial remain unfilled. The company hopes all cuts will be made by voluntary redundancies.

1. All proposals were presented to staff representatives on Thursday, with the consultation exercise set to last for eight weeks. Voluntary redundancy terms are set to be agreed with unions in the coming weeks.

2. In January, the Guardian unveiled a three-year plan that aimed to break even at an operating level by 2018/19 by focusing on new revenue streams and a new membership proposal as well as a 20% overall reduction in the cost base.

3. Print advertising fell sharply in the year by an estimated 25%, and although the Guardian beat this market average, the decline was not offset by digital revenues. The business spent almost £80m in cash in the year to the end of March although the cash and investment fund, boosted by the sale of various assets including its stake in Trader Media Group in 2014, stood at £740m in January, down from £838.3m last July.

In my opinion i believe that with the advancement of digital information there would to be cuts because of this as to the use of digital media. This would be because of the use as to in the guardian it is not popular and they should make the cuts. I believe that this would be sad for the workers in the news industry but the industry would need to survive. The advantage for the guardian is that they are saving money and can use for their next innovations in the future.