Up to 700 jobs go in first round

Internal e-mails to staff seen by mediaguardian.co.uk said the company would be cutting 45 jobs from sales teams in its central Europe, Middle East and Africa division out of a total of 1,305 posts.

“Thomson Reuters announced much more wide-ranging job reductions in its content, technology and operations division, where up to 650 posts will go, with around 250 redundancies,” the website said.

Journalists in the 2,500-strong global news operation, part of the new company’s markets division, are still waiting to hear full details of redundancy plans in their area.

Mediaguardian.co.uk quoted a memo from Peter Moss, head of content, technology and operations, as telling staff: “As the integration proceeds and we are able to remove duplication, this will inevitably mean a reduction in the number of jobs within content, technology and operations. Over the course of 2008, we will reduce approximately 600-650 jobs within our group overall.”

However, he said the number of people leaving the company through redundancies would be “significantly less than this, with our current projections being approximately 250 people”.

A note from Loris Barisa, head of sales and service for continental Europe, Middle East and Africa, quoted by The Guardian said: “You may see some colleagues leave right away, while others will be notified and be transitioning out over a period of weeks as we work through local legal requirements.

“It’s difficult to say goodbye to people who have contributed so significantly to our successes, and that’s why I feel strongly that we conduct this process with the utmost dignity.” ■