Australasian media group Fairfax will cut 1900 jobs over the next three years as it makes moves to become a digital media company.
Fairfax announced the job cuts amid a raft on new measures on Monday, including the closure of two printing facilities, changes to the format of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers, and the introduction of digital subscriptions.
"Readers' behaviours have changed and will not change back," chief executive Greg Hywood said in a statement.
"As a result, we are taking decisive actions to fundamentally change the way we do business."
Fairfax will introduce subscriptions for its Sydney Morning Herald and The Age websites in early 2013, although free access will be available for some parts of those sites.
The printed versions of those two mastheads are also to be made more compact, similar to the size of its Australian Financial Review newspaper, from March 4, 2013.
Fairfax will also close printing facilities at Chullora in Sydney and Tullamarine in Melbourne by June 2014.
Both sites have printing presses with significant surplus capacity which is no longer required, Fairfax says.
The changes, in conjunction with measures already undertaken, would result in 1900 job losses in the next three years, Fairfax said.
The measures will have a one-off cost of about $A248 million ($NZ317m), and result in annual savings of $A235m from June 2014.
The statement does not mention any changes to Fairfax's New Zealand media businesses, but it confirmed that it had sold down its stake in auction website Trade Me from 66 per cent to 51 per cent through a share placement.
That will provide about $A160m to improve Fairfax's balance sheet.
"Fairfax remains highly supportive of the Trade Me business and intends to retain a majority shareholding," the statement said.
Last week Fairfax confirmed it would move Australian regional editorial production jobs, including page design, layout and sub-editing roles, to New Zealand.
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