Fairfax to cut editing jobs in regions

1 July 2008

By Radio New Zealand

Fairfax Media is to cut an estimated 40 sub-editing jobs by abolishing regional positions throughout New Zealand. The company will instead set up hubs of "expertise" in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Staff were made aware of the move after an announcement was accidentally posted on the company's intranet on Monday. Fairfax has apologised for the mistake, saying it planned to deliver the news in a more sensitive way on Wednesday. The company, which currently has about 190 sub-editing staff, is expected to offer redundancies to about 40 workers. The move follows a similar one by competitor APN in 2007 - which outsourced the majority of its subbing work to an Australian firm. Fairfax and the Engineering Printing and Manufacturing Union will meet on Tuesday to discuss the cuts further. Courtesy Radio New Zealand