FT begins 30-day consultation on up to 50 redundancies

The Financial Times has announced a major newsroom restructure that may result in 50 redundancies.

The FT is starting a 30-day consultation period today (Tuesday) with the NUJ, aimed at keeping redundancies to a minimum.

The business daily says a voluntary redundancy programme is part of the consultation process.

The job cuts come as the FT plans to create a “new newsroom” which aims to become one of “the most integrated multi-media newsrooms in the world”.

The plans are based on a radical re-working of the FT’s current newsroom structure to interweave online and print editing, reporting and production that will include the creation of single integrated newspaper/website news desks, the creation of an “FT Interactive” content team, the “deepening” of FT journalists multimedia skills, the creation of a new production structure capable of integrated print and online publishing and streaming newspaper “editionalisation”.

The multi-media news operation will be built around the new Methode editorial production system, installed over the last year, enabling web and print pages to be published off the same platform.

FT editor Lionel Barber said: “We start from a position of strength as a market-leading international newspaper with a highly-respected website and other emerging online channels. The FT has long been a pioneer in forging an integrated online and print newsroom, with web-first publishing and a unified editorial department. Now we must take the next step.