±±¾©Èü³µpk10

The move will affect a fifth of the titles' 430 London-based staff.

The majority of the cuts will come from the editorial department but IN&M said "a sizeable number" of the redundancies will be voluntary.

IN&M expects the total savings of the restructure will be in excess of £10m and the changes to be implemented by early next year.

The publisher said in a statement: "In common with newspapers around the world, The Independent and Independent on Sunday have been hit by a downturn in advertising revenue and this has prompted a major review of the papers' cost base.

"As well as much greater integration between the two papers, a more efficient use of technology will enable the papers to streamline their production processes, thereby saving staff numbers."

IN&M said it was investigating the possibility of outsourcing some areas of operation.

Simon Kelner, managing director, said: "As a management team, we would have been irresponsible had we not reacted to the economic conditions affecting every media business in the world by looking at our cost base.

"These changes will be instrumental in helping to secure the future of these great newspapers. Independent News & Media has not wavered in its commitment to preserve the unique qualities of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday.

"This cost-saving programme will ensure the papers keep their independent voice, while maintaining the quality of their journalism."

The news comes following reports earlier this month that IN&M was in talks with rival newspaper group Trinity Mirror about combining backroom functions to save money.

Sir Tony O'Reilly, chief executive of Independent News & Media, is under pressure from dissident shareholder Denis O'Brien, who owns a 26% stake in the company, to offload the loss-making Independent and its sister Sunday paper.

The Independent's sales have been in steady decline, falling 16.29% in the year to October to record an average circulation of just 201,019 copies.

Ivan Fallon, chief executive of INM (UK), said of the redundancies: "This restructuring will produce a significantly lower cost base, which will allow our titles to weather whatever storms the next few years will bring.

"By taking full advantage of the latest editorial systems, sharing resources across our group, down-sizing our existing premises and looking at out-sourcing some of our activities, we can safeguard the future of the Independent titles.

"This is not just another cost-cutting exercise -- it will mark a step-change in using The Independent's unique pool of talent to produce great quality newspapers at the lowest possible cost.

"We are determined the reader will see no loss of value or quality, and we intend to continue producing award-winning papers for many years yet."