Reach, the publisher of the Daily Mirror and Daily Express, along with host of local titles, is looking to cut a further 50 jobs, mainly in its sports and arts departments in England and Wales.

The company said it wants to “reduce duplication” in both print and digital news content and production. Titles in Scotland, which include the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, will not be affected.

The National Union of Journalists said the cuts will affect correspondents covering big city football clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester United, and those in London and the Midlands, while two on Welsh sport are at risk.

Reach publishes the Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo which are facing big reductions in staff numbers.

Reach has cited “efficiencies” and “optimising performance” created by the sharing of content between titles and the production of common pages as the main reasons for the cuts.

The company has an in-house AI tool, Guten, that rewrites stories to match the style of different titles. The union is concerned that proposed cuts may involve an increase in the use of AI technologies at the publisher at the expense of journalists’ jobs. 

David Higgerson, chief digital publisher at Reach, said: “We are changing the structure of our sports teams to reduce duplication and work more efficiently, while ensuring dedicated resources to deliver exclusive content, rooted in the communities we serve.

“For example, we will continue to have dedicated writers covering our most popular football clubs, as well as for a range of specialist sports including tennis, golf, and F1, delivering content across our portfolio.”

A number of sports staff left Reach titles in a round of redundancies at the end of 2023.

Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said: “Reach is a profitable company – and this is down to journalists’ hard work. Instead of cutting jobs, Reach should invest in its staff and quality journalism.

“The NUJ is deeply concerned by the impact these cuts will have on staff workload and morale. Either fewer staff will be expected to do more work, or Reach is seeking to use AI to fill the resulting gap.  

“The replication of content across Reach’s titles will mean less localised coverage and less media diversity. Ultimately, this results in a poorer product.

“The distinction between different Reach titles will blur with replicated articles less tailored to readers’ interests. An AI mimic would be no substitute for skilled journalists.”