"Fairfax of the Future"

• 1,900 jobs to be cut over the next 3 years
• 300 jobs to be shed in Metro division over 2-3 months
• 2 Metro dailies to shrink to tabloid size on March 4, 2013
• Digital paywalls to be introduced in 2013
• 2 printing presses to be shut down by June 2014
• Expected annual savings of $235 million by 2015

“Fairfax is today announcing fundamental changes to the way we do business,” reads the memo that one of Australia’s largest media companies lodged with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on Monday, sending shockwaves through the press.

The changes, which include the elimination of 1,900 jobs over the next three years, are expected to reduce costs by $235 million over the same period, and to provide Fairfax with the flexibility to shift toward a “digital-only model if that is what is required in the future,” says the document, entitled “Fairfax of the Future.”