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September 16, 2016updated 19 Sep 2016 9:28am

Guardian cutting 40 US jobs in bid to break even

By Freddy Mayhew

The Guardian Media Group is expected to cut a third of jobs across all departments in the US as it attempts to break even in the country amid “challenging trading conditions”.

The number of staff is set to fall from 140 to 100, according to an email to staff from editor-in-chief Katherine Viner and chief executive David Pemsel, the Guardian has reported.

The group said the cuts were “difficult but necessary” if it was to break even in the next financial year, despite the Guardian being “among the top five digital newspaper platforms in America”.

A Guardian News and Media spokesperson said: “We remain committed to Guardian US and to building on the remarkable success of our journalism.

“However, we said in January that we want GMG to break even at an operating level within the next three years and that no part of the business can be immune from tough action to secure the Guardian in perpetuity.

“Given the challenging trading conditions, we will move quickly in the US to rebalance the business model and focus on cost control, to ensure we can continue to serve our loyal and growing readership.”

In July the Guardian reported operating losses of $69m and a pre-tax loss of £173m for the previous financial year. It also posted a decline in digital revenue.

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Since March, a voluntary redundancy programme implemented with the aim of saving £17m a year has resulted in more than 260 jobs being cut in the UK.

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