Postmedia lays off staff, including top editors at Edmonton Journal

TORONTO – Postmedia has let go of the top two editors at the Edmonton Journal as part of a round of layoffs Tuesday.

National Post columnist Chris Selley said on his Twitter feed that approximately 90 jobs were cut.

Stephanie Coombs announced on Twitter her departure as managing editor of the Journal and said that editor-in-chief Margo Goodhand was also leaving the newsroom.

National Post sports reporters David Alter and Eric Koreen, as well as the sports department's web producer Kaitlyn McGrath, tweeted that they were also affected by the cutbacks.

Postmedia did not immediately return requests for comment.

The Communications Workers of America union said on its Twitter feed that Postmedia was merging the Ottawa Citizen and Ottawa Sun newsrooms.

The cuts come less than a week after Postmedia announced it was stepping up its efforts to cut costs amid continued losses in advertising, print circulation and digital media revenue.

The company, which owns the National Post, the Toronto Sun and other major Canadian newspapers, is now aiming for cost reductions of $80 million by mid-2017 — up from its previous goal of $50 million in cuts by the end of 2017.

Postmedia said it was on track to meet the $50-million target by this May 31, the end of its fiscal third quarter.