More than 20 Observer journalists are believed to have taken redundancy rather than transfer over to Tortoise Media.
All staff were offered the option of redundancy if they did not wish to transfer across to the new company following the sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media, which was agreed by Guardian Media Group in December.
Press Gazette understands from one well-placed source that redundancy payouts from Guardian Media Group were capped at £120,000 per person plus notice period.
According to two well-placed sources 46 Observer staff are on a list believed to be transferring over to Tortoise.
Some 70 Observer staff were previously believed to be affected by the sale of The Observer to Tortoise Media meaning more than 20 are likely to have taken voluntary redundancy. A small number of former Observer staff are understood to have taken new jobs at The Guardian.
Sub-editors, commissioning editors and writers are believed to be among those taking redundancy. The deadline for redundancy applications was 5 February.
Many senior Observer writers and photographers are employed on freelance contracts with some being in this situation for 20 years or more. These workers don’t qualify for redundancy payments so are not counted in the total of 70 Observer employees.
The Guardian has said that contractors will be offered new one-year Tortoise Media contracts. There are no guarantees that casual staff (another group of Observer workers) employed on so-called zero hours contracts will be used by Tortoise.
One journalist employed on a contract basis by The Observer told Press Gazette they have yet to receive any information from Tortoise, with ownership transfer set to complete next month.
They added: “The big question is whether it’s lawful to have kept people for 30 years on fixed-term contracts working exclusively for a single employer while claiming they have no employment rights.
“The Guardian runs all these stories about the gig economy meanwhile there are dozens of journalists on zero hours and precarious contracts who are being thrown overboard without even a paddle.”
Observer contractors and freelances were told via email last year following the sale announcement: “Freelance contracts with GNM will end once the Observer is formally transferred to Tortoise Media, which we expect to be in spring 2025.
“At the same time, Tortoise Media will offer Tortoise contracts to all freelance contributors on the same basis as current GNM agreements insofar as remuneration and contributions are concerned. These contracts will all have an end date of 31 March 2026, at which point they will be reviewed in the normal way.
“Freelancers will have a choice whether to accept these new contracts and continue to work with the Observer moving forward. Of course, should anyone not wish to enter into a new contract with Tortoise, that will be respected.”
A spokesperson for Tortoise told Press Gazette they are in the process of contacting contractors.
The Guardian has paid £5m for a 9% stake in the new Tortoise Media/Observer media business. Tortoise has raised a further £20m in funding from the deal from and has yet to reveal the full list of backers. It has said that backers of the deal include new “key shareholders” charitable foundation This Day and Standard Investments.
The Guardian declined to comment.
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