The report claimed that redundancies had become "inevitable" at the Guardian and Observer publisher, which is expected to reveal losses of £45m when it publishes its accounts for the year to the end of March 2012.

The article went on to claim that compulsory redundancies could begin as early as this autumn.

Meanwhile, a separate report has claimed that the group could make some form of print closure next year, citing "well placed media sources".

The rate at which GNM is losing money has led to speculation that the publisher could look to accelerate its "digital first" strategy, announced in the wake of last year's financial report, which revealed two-year losses of £67m.

This digital transformation has so far led to the closure of GNM's international editions, the scrapping of the G3 supplements, as well as a restructuring of the group's print operations in London and Manchester, and a reduction in pagination of the Guardian.

In response to the Sunday Times article, a GNM spokesman said that the group did not comment on such rumours; however, he added: "It is our policy to do everything we can to avoid compulsory redundancies and that will continue.

"We've recently been through a restructuing of the Guardian print operations, which has unfortunately led to around 40 redundancies at our sites in Stratford and Trafford."

The spokesman added that no further restructuring was planned.