Mirror Staff Strike Looms as Reach Cuts Jobs and Embraces AI

Journalists at The Mirror are preparing to take industrial action after linking an impending wave of redundancies to the publisher’s intensifying use of artificial intelligence. The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has begun a ballot on strike action after Reach, the group behind The Mirror and Express, announced plans to axe 321 jobs, including 186 editorial positions. The publisher also warned that approximately 600 roles were at risk overall, with newsrooms across the UK in line for sweeping changes.

The NUJ alleges that Reach’s proprietary AI chatbot, named Guten, is being harnessed to replace journalists by speedily rewriting press releases and news copy. Despite the company’s assurances that technology is not the primary driver behind the job losses, union officials remain unconvinced. They highlight increasing workloads and what they describe as a ‘hollowing out’ of skilled journalism in favour of AI-assisted content production.

General secretary Laura Davison cautioned that these moves risk the dismissal of experienced journalists and create intolerable pressure on those remaining. The union fears that ongoing headcount reductions will result in weaker newsrooms less capable of sustaining robust, high-quality journalism. Members at Reach’s Scottish papers, where four in ten posts are also threatened, are included in the strike ballot.

Reach has stated it will create 135 new roles, predominantly in audio and video, as the company pivots toward a multi-media digital future. The new chief executive, Piers North, is steering the company to increase live news coverage, reduce overlapping content across its various titles, and experiment with paywalls in pursuit of new reader revenues. The overhaul occurs against a backdrop of declining advertising income and mounting digital competition from technology giants, including the growing proliferation of AI tools from companies such as Google and Facebook.

Union representatives remain sceptical about management claims of openness around AI deployment, voicing unease about the broader implications for the profession. Company spokespeople framed the changes as necessary responses to industry disruption, emphasising plans for increased video output and the launch of a dedicated live news network.

At The Mirror specifically, around 40 editorial staff are expected to be dismissed. The future of journalism at Reach will now be circumscribed not only by evolving technology but by the outcome of the union’s industrial response, as editorial teams weigh the consequences of embracing automation while upholding journalistic standards.