Fairfax Media will push ahead with cuts to its staff but has saved some positions from the firing line.

Staff at Fairfax papers, including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, walked off the job last month after learning 70 jobs would be axed.

Twenty-five positions were set to go in editorial production, 30 in photography and 15 in the Life Media division.

Fairfax Media confirmed to staff on Monday job losses would occur but the number of cuts had been scaled down.

However, 52 positions are still tipped to go.

Australian Publishing Media managing director Allen Williams said the company had reviewed and carefully considered alternatives put forward by staff and the media union.

In an email to staff, he said there would be 17 full-time equivalent positions made redundant in editorial production.

Thirteen positions would be cut from Life Media, down from 15 cuts foreshadowed last month.

In photographic, eight jobs have been saved with redundancies reduced from 30 to 22.

Photography will retain 28 staff.

“This follows the extensive consultation process undertaken over the past three and a half weeks with staff and MEAA (Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance),” Mr Williams stated.

Two “quality manager roles” in Sydney and Melbourne will be created and desk editor positions will be increased by six.

The voluntary redundancy program starts from Monday.