The Argus to lay off more staff in Brighton

The daily newspaper for Brighton and Hove is expected to lay off more staff in the coming weeks.

The Argus, in Crowhurst Road, Hollingbury, has written formally to more than a dozen staff in newspaper sales and at least half a dozen editorial staff.

The letters invite staff whose jobs are at risk of being made redundant to a meeting this afternoon (Friday 4 November).

They are expected to be gone in four weeks’ time. Some have served the company for more than 20 years.

One employee said that 13 of the 16 members of the home delivery team in the newspaper sales department were facing the loss of their jobs.

They manage about 500 paper boys and girls and handle complaints about missed deliveries.

Their work is expected to be transferred to Southampton where the paper is now printed and where much of the editing work is now carried out.

Six sub-editing jobs went this time last year and a further six jobs in the editorial team look likely to go in the coming weeks. They include staff in photographic and features as well as the paper’s librarian.

Members of the National Union of Journalists are due to meet this evening to discuss their options.

Last year they held a series of strikes and criticised the newspaper’s owner Newsquest and its American parent company Gannett.

A member of staff who asked not to be named said: “This is the fifth year running Newsquest has handed out redundancies to members of staff at this time of year – always just before Christmas.

“The handful who are left in Hollingbury go beyond the call of duty every day to produce a paper but, like the Grinch, the bosses just seem to take, take, take.

“It’s a bitter blow not just for the individuals involved but to the whole city.

“The people of Brighton and Hove deserve a local paper made in the city and staffed by local people.”