Fairfax fairly fucked

The announcements today by Fairfax are massive. In summary, they are:

•  The Sydney Morning Herald and (Melbourne) age to move to tabloid format on 4 March 2013
• SMH and Age websites have most content go subscription only
• Two printing facilities to close
• 1,900 staff to be let go over three years
• A$248m of restructuring costs, which will lead to A$215m annual savings
• Sale of 15% of Trade Me for A$160m
• Metro newspapers may go digital only (no print edition) if print advertising and circulation revenue declines materially

It will be interesting to see what happens to Fairfax in New Zealand.