THE national and regional newspaper giant Trinity Mirror is proposing to axe around 550 jobs, it has been revealed.

The company owns Kent Regional Newspapers which publishes a number of titles across Kent.

In total the firm, whose titles including the Daily Mirror, has a portfolio of about 260 regional newspapers. It is looking to achieve annual cost savings of £25 million by 2005.

Trinity's new chief executive Sly Bailey said costs would be reduced "significantly" in most business areas, including through the centralisation of finance, human resources and IT functions.

Ms Bailey, who joined the company from magazine publisher IPC Media, said the job cuts formed a three-phase programme to stabilise, revitalise and then grow the business.

The overhaul will also see the company dispose of its newspaper division in Northern Ireland, which includes the Derry Journal and Century Press & Publishing, which prints The News Letter in Belfast.

The review confirmed the future of Trinity's national titles within the group, although the company said the division needed to be "far more robust".