NUJ calls meeting to discuss editorial job cuts

Members of the chapel (union branch) at Reuters will meet on 14 October in two sessions – from 1:00 pm to 1:45 pm and 1:45 pm to 2:30 pm.

Reuters president and editor-in-chief Stephen Adler told staff last Wednesday that Reuters would cut around five per cent of jobs across the board in editorial.

The NUJ’s officers at Reuters, Toby Chopra and Helen Long, said in a note to members that the company had agreed to a union request to extend the deadline for submitting applications for voluntary redundancy by one week. Applications will now close on 18 October. 

“This is to give members the time they need to receive an accurate VR figure and make an informed decision,” they said. “In addition to the voluntary redundancies, the company is proposing to make a number of our members compulsorily redundant. The chapel has a long-standing position opposing all compulsory redundancies, and members will consider at the meeting what response they wish to give to this element of the restructuring.”

Additionally, the restructuring would have major ramifications for those that remained in the company, the union officials said. Issues such as workload, areas of coverage, job roles, news quality and performance management would all be impacted. ■