Staff outrage as Express and Mirror owner says 10% of jobs will be cut

Staff at the Mirror, Express and Star newspapers lambasted executives and the CEO of their parent company during a live stream on Wednesday, after Reach announced plans to cut about 450 jobs – almost a 10th of its entire workforce.

- Matthew Weaver , Mark Sweney  , Alexandra Topping 

Jim Mullen, the chief executive of the company, which also owns regional UK titles including the Manchester Evening News, Birmingham Mail and Liverpool Echo, faced a barrage of furious comments from editorial staff as he outlined plans to further slash costs at the UK’s largest commercial news publisher, part of proposals to trim operating costs by 5%-6% in 2024.

In comments seen by the Guardian, staff called on Mullen to resign, said he was a “liability” and likened the company’s treatment of staff to an “abusive parent”. Sources said they had never known such anger at the company, which has already made major job cuts this year.

Reach said 320 of the jobs going would be editorial roles, with the extra savings helping it to invest in boosting its online output.

“Our industry has a history of change and the future will undoubtedly involve yet more,” said Mullen. “That’s why it’s essential we set ourselves up to win, by making our operations suited to an increasingly fast-paced, competitive and customer-focused digital world.”

One anonymous commenter wrote during the online meeting: “You are not a CEO. You and your corporate execs are executioners! You have killed journalism.”