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October 21, 2014

Telegraph journalists warned to brace themselves redundancies – around 55 jobs could go

By Dominic Ponsford

Telegraph Media group editor in chief Jason Seiken has written to all journalists warning them of plans to reduce the overall number of editorial positions.

Press Gazette understands that around 55 journalism jobs are at risk.

The move comes after the announcement in June of the creation of 40 new editorial jobs amid around a dozen mainly senior journalist departures.

In March 2013 the Telegraph announced 80 editorial redundancies and the creation of 50 new jobs.

In a letter to staff Seiken said: “I am writing to update you on changes we are making as part of the ongoing editorial transformation.

"As I outlined in a letter to staff earlier this month, we must continue to meet the demands of resourcing our digital-first newsroom whilst also responding to the ongoing challenges within our industry.  As a result, there will inevitably be an impact on staff numbers in several editorial areas.

"As we reduce the overall number of editorial positions we will start the normal information and consultation process.  Those who are likely to be most affected will receive further correspondence in the next few days.  This will outline the next steps.

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"I realise this is a time of great uncertainty for you all.  I do not want that to continue for any longer than is necessary, but I want the process we follow to be fair and allow time for sufficient consultation.  I hope we can complete this initial assessment in just over a week.

"We continue to work as hard as we can to develop new revenue streams as we move TMG editorial to a digital-dominant operation.  Even at the end of this process, we will have more editorial resource than many of our competitors and we will carry on creating and filling digital posts.

"I am extremely grateful to all colleagues for your understanding as we continue to work towards the transformation that is so essential to our future."

Earlier this week it was announced that Daily Telegraph print editor Chris Evans was being promoted to become director of content across Telegraph media group.

Seiken is taking on additional financial responsibilities working on the “future strategy and direction of the group”.

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