NEWS agency the Press Association (PA) is planning to sack almost one-third of the journalists at one of its main operations at Howden in East Yorkshire.

The centre employs 94 journalists and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said that PA wanted to axe 27 jobs.

The threatened workers produce TV listings for most of Britain’s national newspapers and magazines, including The Sun, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph and many others.

Some of the work is believed to already have been transferred to France and two journalists have lost their jobs.

NUJ Northern and Midlands organiser Chris Morley said PA was responsible for a sustained attack on jobs.

“This is also an attack on quality,” he said. “We will be supporting our members though what is a traumatic process.”

PA refused to confirm the numbers affected, but said it had announced a “restructuring proposal” in its TV listings business.