Reach, the publisher of the Mirror, Express and numerous regional titles, is cutting a further 220 editorial jobs as it responds to a sharp decline in online traffic driven by readers relying on AI-generated summaries instead of clicking through to news websites. The company says the move reflects a "mammoth shift" in how audiences consume content, with page views hit hard by tools such as Google's AI Mode and AI Overviews, which allow users to get information without visiting publishers' sites directly.

The cuts follow a similar restructure last September, when 600 roles were put at risk and more than 300 editorial jobs were ultimately lost. Reach is also closing three online-only regional brands and creating around 60 new roles focused on subscriptions and video to boost digital revenue, which fell almost 1% to £128.9m in the year to March. The company blamed a 46% year-on-year drop in Google referral traffic and criticised the BBC for allegedly mirroring commercial publishers' local content up to 70% of the time; Reach's share price has fallen 90% over five years, and it currently has 50,000 paying digital subscribers, with a target of 75,000.