Fairfax is ending its three-year-old sub-editing contractor with Pagemasters, The Newspaper Works has reported.

Pagemasters, the design, editorial and listings service acquired by AAP in 2002 and built up by current chief executive Bruce Davidson, provides production services for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the Canberra Times and their weekend editions.

TNW says the change could affect up to 40 paid employees. It quotes current Pagemasters managing director Peter Atkinson that non-renewal of the current contract “would have ramifications” for employees and that it was pursuing a new commercial agreement with Fairfax.

“We are still in discussions with Fairfax about a new agreement, which we hope might involve a similar and possibly even broader scope of work,” he said. “It would also contemplate new workflows and cost models that better reflect current and future needs.”

The current contract – known as Moonlight –was established in 2011.

Atkinson says that since the time of the Moonlight deal, “the publishing industry has changed substantially”. Pagemasters is talking to other publishers in Australia and overseas to “grow and diversify” its business base.

AAP is owned by News, Fairfax and Seven West, which are also shareholders in The Newspaper Works.

On our homepage: A graphic from the Pagemasters website