Guardian international editions scrapped in digital-first shift

Guardian News & Media announced today it will scrap the international editions of the Guardian and Observer as part of its new digital-first strategy.

The editions, which are currently printed in New York, Frankfurt, Madrid, Malta and Cyprus, will be axed in October.

A spokesperson for GNM confirmed that four members of staff will be affected, but said the company is attempting to redeploy them elsewhere.

GNM announced its new digital-first strategy last month, with editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger confirming later the shift would involve "significant job cuts".

The company is looking to save £25 million over the next five years after confirming cash losses of £33 million for the last financial year.

It has said it intends to double annual digital revenues to nearly £100 over the same period.

Adam Freeman, executive director – commercial at GNM, said: "Our international print editions have been a valued part of what we do for a number of years, but as a result of the structural changes affecting all printed newspapers we have been steadily reducing the amount of copies we publish outside the UK since 2010 due to reasons of demand and cost.

"We will continue to serve our growing international audience via our website and other digital platforms and we will also increase the distribution of Guardian Weekly.

"This is one of a number of steps that will allow us to focus our efforts and resources on digital platforms and subscription-based products, including our forthcoming launches on Kindle and iPad, that will deliver growth in our UK and international audiences."

ABC figures for April saw circulation of the Guardian drop 12.5 per cent year-on-year to 262,937, and the Observer fell 13.9 per cent to 293,053.

Digital traffic is up however, with 2.4 million unique users in April, a 31 per cent increase year-on-year.

Overall turnover for GMG was £221 million in the 2009/2010 financial year, with around £40 million of that coming from digital. That figure dropped by £23 million in 2010/2011 to £198 million.

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