Putting his stamp on the company almost immediately, new DMGT CEO Martin Morgan told analysts he would wring “significant revenue, cost and efficiency” savings of £100 million from his newspaper businesses through selective hiring freezes, tighter expenditure control and some cost cutting, mostly in the Northcliffe regional unit…
— Layoffs: “There have been some headcount reductions, there will be limited more headcount reductions; consultations are going on with staff right now. Some headcount reductions have already implemented or will be on the way and will be 300 people – it’s true there will be further reductions in the number of jobs at Northcliffe, many of those will come about through not filling vacancies as opposed to letting people go.” In morning briefings, DMGT said 400 workers jobs had closed in the last few months.
— Cancelled acquisitions: “Since I joined in October, I have actually cancelled a number of acquisitions that were in the pipeline because they didn’t meet these tougher criteria.” Morgan said DMGT’s door remained open to buying businesses, “but only just”.
— Digital plans Online revenues: “They’re clearly somewhat under pressure but we do think that we’re able to take market share gains.” There has to be a greater focus on innovation: “We will continue to innovate actively and aggressively, both in print and online, and you will see changes emerging over the next few years as those changes come to reality – it’s very front-foot.” Jobsite going global: “We feel confident we’re moving in to the number one online recruitment position in the UK and we’re looking potentially to expand that business internationally.” On Mail Online, finance director Peter Williams: “We have yet to really successfully monetise that audience; that’s a big opportunity for us, I would suggest.”