Journalists are picketing outside The Age office in Melbourne to protest planned job cuts, as Fairfax announces another drop in revenue.

The staff gathered outside Media House on Thursday wearing “Fair Go Fairfax” t-shirts in protest against the company’s plan to cut 125 jobs from The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review to save $30 million.

The Age and SMH newsrooms announced a seven day strike on Wednesday, but chief executive Greg Hywood says the print and digital editions of both mastheads will be published as normal.

At least one SMH journalist alleged the staff had since been locked out, tweeting that their passes to the newspaper’s offices were not working Thursday.

“We respect our staff for the passion they have for independent, high quality journalism,” Mr Hywood said Thursday.

“We share it – but we know what it takes to make our kind of journalism sustainable. Passion alone won’t cut it.

“This is not the first time we have had industrial opposition to what we are doing – we won’t be dissuaded from making the right decisions – and we will get our digital and print editions out through this period.”

Sydney Morning Herald journalists have also gathered outside a hotel in Sydney where Mr Hywood will give a presentation about Fairfax’s future.

Investors were told Fairfax’s news operations are continuing to bleed with revenue falling 11 per cent for both its Metro Media and its Australian Community Media since Christmas.

The company said total group revenue also fell, by six per cent, in the 17 weeks to April 23 compared to the prior corresponding period.

Fairfax on Thursday said revenue was down 11 per cent for both its Metro Media and its Australian Community Media.

Journalists were “shocked and appalled” by the extent of the cuts announced Wednesday and walked off the job in a move that may impact coverage of next Tuesday’s federal budget.

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance union said the company was failing its audiences and forcing its journalists to work “harder and harder to plug the gaps”.

Fairfax staff also spoke out passionately against the changes, fearing Sydney and Melbourne were at risk of becoming one-newspaper towns.

Herald political reporter Michael Koziol fears the cuts will push out his more experienced and knowledgeable colleagues.

“As a younger journalist I especially resent the way these cuts force older colleagues out the door, denying our newsrooms their institutional knowledge,” he told AAP.

– With AAP