LONDON – The Financial Times has raised the spectre of editorial cuts as it consults journalists about the possibility of early retirement or voluntary redundancy.The FT's editor Andrew Gower sent a memo to editorial staff on Tuesday asking whether they would consider these options under a scheme that could become into effect early next year.
An FT spokeswoman said that the memo was written in response to enquiries from journalists about the possibility of such a scheme.
"We have not offered such a scheme this year and we are testing the water to see if there is any interest in a small scale scheme next year," she said.
The last time the FT made editorial redundancies was in 2001, when 20 staff departed in a voluntary scheme.
The latest talk of redundancy comes during a quarter in which the FT is set to return to break-even, according to a trading statement issued earlier this month by the FT's owner Pearson. The newspaper made a £32m loss in 2003, which Pearson expects to reduce by £20m this year.
However, an uncertain advertising picture means that the impetus of the recovery may peter out. Advertising revenues for the latest quarter are up only 2% year on year, and technology and B2B advertising remain weak.
A saving of £400,000 could be made by closing the FT's media supplement Creative Business, which has been under review. The spokeperson said: "We are still looking at Creative Business."
Speculation is that the supplement, which attracts little advertising, could close.
If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the debate in the .
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
