Jobs under threat at city paper

Fourteen jobs are at risk at the Derry newspaper

Up to 14 jobs are at risk at the Derry Journal newspaper, it has been announced.

The paper's owners, Johnston Press, have said they plan to centralise some operations to their head office in Portadown.

The jobs affected are in the finance and pre-press departments in the paper's offices on the Buncrana Road.

Johnston Press divisional managing director, Jean Long, said the move was "regrettable but necessary."

She said the staff affected had been notified, and a consultation process was under way.

"The company will make every effort to minimise the impact of this proposal on affected staff through, where possible, by re-deployment to alternative positions," she said.

"The company is committed to continued investment in the provision of strong local content and a first class advertising service to our readers and advertisers in Derry and Donegal."

Davy Edmont from the union, Unite, said: "The members rang me last week regarding some Chinese whispers that were going round the site but nothing official had come from the company until this morning.

"They just rang my office to advise me that, again, they were going to have some further restructuring within the site.

"Fourteen staff members is the number that's been quoted to me which would be a fair size chunk of the current workforce within Unite's organisation in the Derry Journal."

The Derry Journal group, which includes the Donegal Democrat, was purchased by Johnston Press in 2006.