Commercial news publisher Reach has announced it will furlough 1,000 out of its 4,700 employees, due to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.
The organisation, which publishes 150 newspapers including the Daily Mirror, Daily Star and Daily Express, has confirmed that in addition to the 20% of its staff that will 80% of their current salary as part of the government’s furlough Covid-19 (Coronavirus) job retention scheme, its senior editorial and management team will also take a 20% pay reduction, effective immediately.
A number of employees within the organisation will also see a pay reduction of 10%, as long as their pay does not fall below the minimum living wage.
Reach confirmed that all employee bonus schemes for 2020 would be suspended and the organisation plans to register for the temporary wage subsidy scheme in Ireland.
Jim Mullen, chief executive at Reach PLC said: "These are very challenging times and I would like to thank all our colleagues at Reach for their support and commitment. It remains difficult to predict the duration and long term impact of the crisis on our sector so it is key we take proactive measures now on the cost to protect jobs and the Reach business for the long term."
