After Telegraph.co.uk, BBC News (soon) and Guardian Unlimited (coming), Trinity-Mirror’s Welsh newspapers under the Media Wales imprint are next in line for an integrated multimedia newsroom. Staff at the South Wales Echo regional this morning canceled meetings, “saying something major will be occupying all their time for the foreseeable future”, a source told paidContent:UK.

SEE ALSO: Guardian/Observer ‘To Merge Sections’ For Web Integration; Editor Alton Quits

Turns out the Echo’s newsroom is being amalgamated with the national Western Mail and Wales On Sunday plus the Celtic imprint of local titles and magazines to create (following the same pattern) a “multimedia 24/7 newsroom”. Also following the pattern, there will be 10 redundancies (17 if you count the seven vacant posts that won’t be filled) plus the creation of new digital roles.

- Online demands: The change is due to take place by the time the existing Thomson (NYSE: TOC) House building is revamped in March. BBC: “Some managers will lose their jobs and redundancy volunteers will be sought in the sport and photographic departments.” Edmunds: “The proposed management structure will be leaner but will be extremely effective for the demands we face.” The unattractive icWales online portal encompassing the titles had languished for several years under an automated print-to-web shovelware system but has started to benefit from the redesign process Trinity-Mirror is giving to the “ic” network and includes video, audio, hyperlocal coverage and blogs.

- Job losses: NUJ’s new media assistant organiser for new media and Wales Lawrence Shaw told us: “It is ridiculous for any media outlet to try to actually reduce the number of journalists employed when they claim to be looking to actually expand their multimedia coverage. In fact, there is a stronger argument that they should be taking on more staff to make the new operation successful.”