60 more staff axed as Bauer absorbs Pacific Magazines
Less than a week after German-owned magazine publisher Bauer Media axed 70 staff, another 60 have been cut from the business and a further 14 stood down.
The cuts came by Zoom this morning as Bauer CEO Brendon Hill welcomed the Pacific Magazines staff to the business after acquiring the company formerly owned by Seven West Media for $40m, processed last week.
Hill told 60 Pacific Magazines staffers they would be let go today
Mumbrella understands the Pacific Magazines staff were told in a Zoom call with Hill that 60 staff would be let go and a further 14 stood down for at least three to six months. The impacted staff were then told individually that they would be let go.
Last week, Bauer Media announced four of its titles would be suspended for the foreseeable future. Mumbrella understands the impacted titles are OK, NW, Elle Australia and Harper’s Bazaar. Additionally, several Pacific Magazines titles will also be suspended for three to six months. Sources from inside the business have said Men’s Health and Women’s Health are two of the impacted titles.
140 Bauer staff are now expected to have been impacted and a further 100 or so from the Pacific Magazines side of the business. Mumbrella understands a number of the cuts made today were from the digital and sales teams.
The impacts of COVID-19 and the loss of advertising revenue associated has been blamed for the staffing cuts. Bauer closed its New Zealand offices early on in the pandemic, resulting in redundancies for its entire workforce and the closure of several titles.
Rumours are swirling that Bauer’s German parent company may have found a buyer for the Australian arm of the business. Speaking to The Australian, former magazine exec Deborah Thomas said she expected several more titles would be cut from the newly merged business as it attempts to streamline itself. Instyle is thought to be another one of the titles on the chopping block.
Bauer Media has been approached for comment.
This is truly awful. I was one of the Pacific staff not taken on by Bauer and I had my last day last Thursday, but I’ve known about this for a number of months and have dealt with it.
I feel awful for the 60 editorial and sales staff from Pacific who were let go today on their first day at Bauer. Surely with an end in sight to the Corona lockdown companies might be looking to start hiring, rather than firing.
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The way staff from Pacific and Bauer have been treated is appalling. Bauer are doing a slash and burn so they can consolidate, sell up and ship out of Australia. They have no intention of trying to make things work here. Why won’t they comment? They won’t until they announce a sale. People who have been stood down are worst affected, those magazines will never come back.
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Welcomed Pacific staff is a gross overstatement. He didnt welcome any of them and instead opened with reading a pre drafted statement outlining the redundancies.
It was then passed onto EY to do their dirty work via zoom
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It was a shocking way to handle this situation. The Pacific teams were reeling with his manner throughout this.
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Bauer/Pacific have so, so much work to do – now with so little staff. I’m not sure what’s worse: keeping a job and sorting through the mess or getting a redundancy and jumping the hell off that rollercoaster. Hopefully the worst of covid is nearly over.
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Even worse they’re not even looking at the business development perspective. Hibernation is driving magazine sales through the roof. Yet their printers have not responded to requests for increased supply. How can they be letting people go when their business has so much Unfulfilled potential. Wahnsinn!
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