Mirror Express and Star Publisher Reach to Axe 600 Jobs in Major AI Driven Shakeup and Pivot to Digital Subscriptions

The publisher of the Mirror, Express and Star newspapers is set to cut 600 jobs in its most radical restructuring to date as it contends with rapidly changing reader habits and the growing impact of artificial intelligence. Reach plc, which also owns a wealth of regional titles such as the Manchester Evening News, Birmingham Mail and Liverpool Echo, outlined plans that include 321 editorial redundancies, with the remaining cuts affecting commercial and production teams and a centralised sports news hub established earlier this year.

This ambitious overhaul will also see the creation of 135 new posts, with priority offered to those at risk of redundancy. The changes reflect an industry increasingly pivoting towards video, audio and an expansive live news network in response to seismic shifts in how audiences consume journalism. “Our new structure represents the biggest reorganisation we’ve ever undertaken, surpassing even the changes early in the digital revolution,” stated David Higgerson, chief content officer at Reach. “We must transform how we operate and tell stories to align our resources with our ambitions.”

Advance of AI products such as Google’s AI Overviews has heightened pressures, with reports that click-throughs from search engines to online news sources have been slashed by up to 90 percent. Web users are increasingly finding answers directly in search results, eroding established advertising revenue streams and prompting publishers to seek alternative business models.

Reach, which last year reported profits close to £100 million, is also placing a new emphasis on paid digital subscriptions. Manchester Evening News, one of its flagship regional titles, adopted a metered paywall in 2023, and similar initiatives are expected across the company’s portfolio. Chief executive Piers North confirmed the publisher remains predominantly advertising funded for now, but recognises digital subscriptions as a vital, unexplored growth area.

Competition is intensifying across the media landscape, with rivals such as the Sun and MailOnline having already introduced paywalls, aiming to diversify income and bolster direct reader relationships while lessening their dependence on third-party traffic sources. The trend is triggering significant upheaval. Since 2018, Reach’s workforce has dropped from nearly 5,500 to just over 3,500 at the end of last year, after a wave of acquisitions followed by brutal cost-cutting and consolidation.

Staff reductions have sparked concern among journalists’ unions, with the National Union of Journalists warning of depressed morale and questioning the future outlook for newsrooms already operating with reduced resources. The continued evolution of digital publishing and the utilisation of artificial intelligence are reshaping not only audience engagement but also the fundamental economics of UK journalism.