Scottish & Universal Newspapers, owned by Trinity Mirror, has announced it is suspending the publication of six free weekly Scottish titles.
The decision is expected to see five redundancies, three clerical positions and two from distribution. However the company insisted that no editorial staff would face lay off.
The company has said it is now in a period of consultation with all affected staff.
The affected publications are the Lanarkshire World, Perth Shopper, Stirling Shopper, Renfrewshire World, Clyde Weekly News and Dumfries and Galloway Today. Printing will cease from the week ending 9 September.
Last week profits from the company’s regional group were reported down over a third in the first six months of the year. The group’s planned cutbacks for this year have increased from £15m to £25m.
The news of further Scottish redundancies follows last month’s sacking of 85 journalists from the Daily Record and the Sunday Mail.
Scottish & Universal Newspapers managing director Bill Steven said: “We’ve taken this decision to suspend these titles as a result of the challenging economic environment and we will review the feasibility of reintroducing them should trading conditions improve in the future.
“Where possible we hope to achieve any redundancies by voluntary means and will also be exploring opportunities for alternative employment for those affected.”
