Mediahuis Ireland, the company that owns newspaper titles including the Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Sunday World and Belfast Telegraph, has announced another voluntary redundancy programme.
It follows a previous round of job cuts in March 2023.
The company employs around 549 staff in its publishing division on the island of Ireland.
Mediahuis Ireland said it is seeking a reduction in staffing levels of approximately 10% across its publishing organisation.
The company said that its two traditional revenue streams, single copy sales and print advertising, are both under pressure and that while they are being replaced by revenues from digital subscribers and digital advertising, it is happening at a slower pace.
"Mediahuis Group estimates that this year 70% of our revenue will come from print and 30% from digital, but by 2030 we foresee that it will be a 30-70 ratio of print-digital," the company said in a statement.
"To remain a successful news organisation into the future and to continue to play a central role in journalism on the island of Ireland, we need to adapt to the landscape in which we are functioning and to the changing needs of our customers.
"Savings from the Voluntary Redundancy Programme will allow the business to invest in new products, target new audiences and make our brands more resilient, and more customer-oriented for readers and advertisers alike," Mediahuis said.
Chief executive Peter Vandermeersch said that media companies all over the world are struggling with the same dilemma of how to generate sufficient revenues to finance the ambition to produce excellent journalism.
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"I am convinced that our strategy is the right one: to restructure our business to make this a leaner, more streamlined news organisation with the most efficient processes and systems possible, while continuing to produce the highest quality journalism and diversifying our revenues to build a sustainable future for our company," Mr Vandermeersch.
Belgian-Dutch group Mediahuis bought Independent News and Media in 2019.
'Grave concern'
The Irish Secretary of the National Union of Journalists expressed "grave concern" at the announcement.
Séamus Dooley said: "There was no prior consultation with the NUJ on the proposed redundancies and we have already sought engagement with the company. The loss of up to 30 editorial posts would have serious implications in an organisation where editorial staff has already been reduced."
He said while there is a "commitment to voluntary redundancies" the union was also concerned "that compulsory redundancies have not been ruled out at this stage".
Mr Dooley added that the union needed "urgent clarification on where the axe is likely to fall".
He said the NUJ would consult with its officers at Mediahuis in the coming days.
