DC Thomson: 300 jobs to go at publisher DC Thomson

It is understood that around 300 staff at DC Thomson will be made redundant, following reports that jobs will be lost at the media company as they tried to plug a £10m gap by "reshaping its portfolio".

According to reports, the largest number of jobs will be lost in the company's magazine sector with numerous titles closing.

Jobs at number of Scottish-based magazine titles and DC Thomson's newspapers including The Courier, The Press and Journal and The Sunday Post are at risk, with around half of the redundancies expected to come from Aceville in Colchester, a magazine publisher acquired in 2018.

Newspaper staff include journalists, photographers, senior management and editors are thought to be at risk with the BBC reporting that editor-in-chief of the Press & Journal and Evening Express in Aberdeen, Frank O'Donnell, also "at risk".

News of jobs being at risk were relayed to staff in a series of meetings on Wednesday before being told the number of redundancies on Thursday morning.

The majority of jobs will be lost in the company’s magazine sector with several of the titles set to close.

Animal Planet Kids, Living, Animals and You, teen magazine Shout and Platinum, are all among the magazine titles expected to close entirely, although DC news titles are not expected to close amid potential job losses.

According to reports, sources within DC Thomson have described the atmosphere within the newsroom as "grim".

Around 300 members of staff at newspaper and magazine publisher DC Thomson will be made redundant, it has been reported.

DC Thomson which has officers across Scotland, including in Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow produces magazines and comics including The People's Friend, Beano, and Puzzler.

A spokesman for the group said there would be changes to the “structure of newsrooms”, adding that “roles and responsibilities at all levels within the team are being reviewed”.

The long-running Beano comic is also owned by the firm, which said in a statement that “flagship brands remain integral to our future”.

The spokesman said: “We are having to make the difficult decision that 300 colleagues will be made redundant across the UK, with around half coming from the closure of titles acquired from Aceville in Colchester.

“We are resetting DC Thomson’s media business to focus on high growth, and sustainable growth.

“We will be closing some Dundee-based magazines including Living, Platinum, Evergreen, Shout, Animals and You, and Animal Planet. All print titles acquired from Colchester’s Aceville will also close.

“All our flagship brands remain integral to our future.

“As part of the transformation, we are reviewing changes to the structure of our newsrooms to respond to economic pressures and better serve our local communities.

“Roles and responsibilities at all levels within the team are being reviewed.

“It would be inappropriate to comment on individual people at this time.

“The Scottish communities, particularly in the north and north east, are core to DC Thomson and we have a number of thriving businesses in the region.”

Rebecca Miskin, chief executive of DC Thomson's media business, said "significant changes" were being announced.

She said: "We will be announcing the closure of some well-loved titles, as well as the cessation of some commercial activities.

"This will mean losing some valued colleagues, something we deeply regret.

"These moves are vital to set us up to thrive in the future and to respond to the difficult economic environment we are in.”