Journalists at Fairfax Media have condemned proposed $30m job cuts and strongly rejected a “mission statement” in which the company stated an ideological position about being pro market-based solutions.



“We reject any ideological direction,” a stop-work resolution on Thursday said. “We report the facts fairly and accurately without fear or favour. We call out the company’s pernicious ideological interference and the fact that coercion was buried in their mission statement.”

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On Wednesday the company stunned journalists at the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald when it outlined a new political strategy in a five-page document about an editorial restructure.

“Our pro-investor, pro-consumer view of business is central to our influence in the economic and business community,” the company said in Metro Journalism – The way ahead. “We believe in the merits of market-based solutions to economic challenges and an Australia that rewards aspiration and hard work. We want to be at the political centre of the rigorous debate over how best to achieve these important objectives.”

Sources said the chief executive, Greg Hywood, and his management team were afraid the Herald’s reputation for being leftwing was hurting the advertising department.

At stop-work meetings in Sydney and Melbourne staff signalled they may “escalate” their response if management does not meet their demands. They resolved to “fight for every job” and ensure a “fair process” which may see more than 100 journalists lose their jobs this round. “Staff feel the company is proposing to consult with us while holding a $30m gun to our heads,” the resolution said.

The newly appointed managing director of Australian Metro Publishing, Chris Janz, has said the editorial budget will take a $30m cut but has not indicated how much of that is staff cuts. It is understood the majority will come from staff losses.

“We call on the company to provide a clear estimate of what proportion of the $30m cuts will come from editorial job losses,” staff said. “Without details around proposed job cuts, this is not a genuine consultation. We call on the company to guarantee select staff will get access to confidential financial information and any other relevant business information to allow us to genuinely participate.”

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In the Metro Journalism document the company said there were many reasons to be optimistic and digital subscriptions were up – but tough decisions had to be taken.

“Never have journalists been more important,” it said. “Never have journalists been more influential. In the ‘golden era of newspapers’ in the late 1960s and early 1970s, circulation of our mastheads was slightly over 1m papers. Today around 5.5 million people view and read us each month. Their trust is the differentiating factor between us and our competitors.

“Like all publishers globally, we are confronting challenges. Print circulation and revenue have declined. While our digital audience is vastly bigger, digital revenue is less certain in the face of mega players Facebook and Google.”

Staff say they will not take part in the consultation process if they are not given more information by Monday 10 April.



• This story was amended on Tuesday 11 April. A previous version of this story incorrectly described Fairfax’s mission statement.