The move follows the announcement that Trinity Mirror plc is to invest £60m in a new printing press on the Fort Dunlop development in Birmingham.

There are currently 193 press, publishing and engineering staff at the exisiting sites in Coventry and Birmingham.

Trinity Mirror has said it hopes to achieve all the necessary staff reductions through voluntary redundancy.

Staffing structure

The Evening Mail, the Birmingham Post and the Sunday Mercury have up to now been printed in Birmingham while the Evening Telegraph has been printed in Coventry.

The printing facilites at both these sites will close.

The papers will be printed along with all Trinity Mirror's Midlands other publications at the new press.

The company says the new staffing structure will be in place by summer 2004.

Alistair Nee, regional managing director for the Midlands, said: "It is regrettable that our investment in the future should lead to redundancies, but the new print site is essential for ensuring the long-term success of our business.

"It will create a modern, state-of-the-art environment for publishing in the 21st century."