Reuters cuts 25 jobs in Paris - report

The Paris bureau is the latest affected by a huge downsizing plan announced in November. In Italy, 16 out of 45 journalist posts could be abolished in Rome and Milan, and 10 out of 120 in Berlin, Le Monde reported. It said the editorial offices of Madrid and Lisbon will merge.

"The proposed departure conditions are unacceptable. Management will never get as many voluntary departures, and we fear they will then be forced," a union source said.

The reorganisation involves all of Thomson Reuters. In December, the group announced that it would cut 3,200 jobs by 2020, or 12 per cent of its workforce, and reduce by 30 per cent the number of its international offices, Le Monde said.

Reuters has not announced how the news agency would be affected, but the recent job cuts in Europe show that it will not be spared.

"Reuters News can be an even bigger part of our future growth," James Smith, CEO of Thomson Reuters, said on Tuesday when the group posted quarterly revenue up nine per cent.

Le Monde noted that Agence France-Presse is also cutting in its workforce. Its new CEO, Fabrice Fries, in November presented a "transformation plan" aimed at achieving 14 million euros of savings on the payroll, through a voluntary plan of departure. A total of 95 posts out of 2,500 are to be cut by 2023, but trade unions still oppose the plan. ■