Bauer Xcel boss slashes senior jobs admitting company has not met its targets
Newly appointed Bauer Xcel managing director Christian Fricke has slashed three senior roles at the publisher in his first major move, admitting the company has not met its business targets.
Christian Fricke: ‘We did not manage to meet the business targets that were forecasted’
In an email to staff, Fricke, who was appointed to the Australian arm of the business in July, said: “I had to take a very tough decision during the last days and wanted to inform you today about the following changes in Bauer Xcel ANZ.
“As you are aware I have been reviewing the digital business since my arrival last month. Unfortunately, we did not manage to meet the business targets that were forecasted about a year ago. I think all of you did a great job in the past but the aspirations were just too high to be achievable in the given time frame.”
The note continues with Fricke outlining he had to review the company’s processes and roles to “make sure the set-up and costs fit to the revenue opportunities”.
As a result, Bauer Xcel has split the audience management team, with EDM and promotions to report directly to Fricke while social media will “follow a more editorialised strategy” and report into Bauer Xcel content director Emily Kerr and privacy responsibilities will transition to legal.
Fernando finishes up at Xcel after nearly four years
Fricke said: “As a result of this split, the role of audience management director and corporate counsel has been made redundant and Sarla [Fernando] will be finishing up with Bauer.”
Fernando had been with the company since December 2012.
Further changes will see the product and technology teams merged to work “side-by-side under Richard Lennox”, Bauer Xcel’s CTO.
Fricke said: “As a result, the role of head of product has been made redundant and Ana Almeida will be finishing up with Bauer Xcel.”
Ana Almeida’s head of product role axed
Almeida joined Bauer Xcel as senior product manager in February 2013 before being promoted to head of product in December last year.
On the video front, Fricke said: “creating profitable video operations is one of the most challenging tasks we have as a digital publisher.
“Due to the low number of video views we generate per video, we were not able to earn back our production costs in the past.
“We will review the current processes and integrate video into the editorial teams. Therefore the role of Video Manager has been made redundant and Dallas Baird will be finishing up with Xcel.”
Dallas Baird finishing up with Xcel
Baird joined Bauer Xcel in August 2014.
Fricke finished by thanking the three staff for “the great work they did in the past”.
“They will finish up tomorrow already. If you have any questions over the coming days, please feel free to see me directly. I will also update all of you shortly on our new Bauer Xcel Media org chart and digital business strategy moving forward,” the note said.
Fricke told Mumbrella: “I want to thank the three colleagues who are leaving the Xcel business. They have all made a significant contribution and I wish them every success in the future. We made these decisions reluctantly and in the best interests of ensuring future growth of the business.”
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
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Wow. The comments made by Fricke are nothing short of appalling. Scapegoating at its worst by a boy clearly on a man’s errand. Sarla Fernando [who,by the way, has been a loyal servant for ACP and Bauer for much more than the four years mumbrella notes, having worked under greats like Amanda laing in legal before moving into audience management and digital] delivered that company a social media framework, building it from scratch at a time when it was a free for all and an absolute cluster. She delivered process and encouraged editorial teams to find the right voice and nuance specific to their brand. She also had the legal and contractual chops to save the company from many embarrassing stuff ups perpetrated by the geniuses who either previously occupied Fricke’s office or sat outside of it. She deserves better than this and she will find it in her next job. Good luck, Sarla. If Fricke is the new world order, you are much better off without Bauer.
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never good to give this news but good to explain the reasons openly
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Well said. Sarla Fernando is one of the greats.
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He should have a look at the Melb office
lots of cost savings their
not sure htey have meet any targets as yet
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Sounds like (yet more) cost cutting dressed up as (yet another) reorg in digital. Now that Bauer manage their own digital assets following the ninemsn split, they are belatedly discovering how hard it is to compete in an overcrowded digital publishing world, and how hard it is to make money from digital audiences – especially when they’re as small as Bauer’s are. Not sure shifting digital specialities in under the (mainly print) editorial teams is going to fix those problems. And getting rid of the Head of Product and moving product under tech is a classic case of old-skool media not understanding what digital product management actually is. I think we can confidently predict that Bauer will never be a force in digital media.
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Do you really need to name & shame the people that have lost their jobs (with mug shots no less)??? Show a bit of compassion!
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Sarla Fernando is one of the greats. so sad to see talent go and the carp left behind.
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Agree Minnie. Product under tech is a completely blinkered move. Cannot wait to see the innovation that follows now without a product lead that understands the nuances of what makes a compelling site or app.
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Couldn’t agree more. Sarla Fernando was a true asset to that company and is a massive loss. She deserves better treatment than Fricke’s approach.
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It’s just not the four years with Bauer..
Sarla has worked for ACP and Bauer for 17 years!!
Over the years, friends and family and even colleagues have asked her to quit and move on but her loyalty to this company far surpassed her necessity for personal growth and challenges elsewhere.
I hope these ‘upstarts’ have given her a golden handshake.
Then again, the callousness of Fricke’s press statement should say it all!! ” finishes up at Bauer’s.”!
Sarla, bigger and better things for you sooner than later. Fricke’s time too will be short lived when he falls short of meeting his so called targets !!!!! He obviously does not know whom he has lost….
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I disagreed with you in my head but then reflected, and thought, “Yeah, those mugshots add nothing to the story or reader experience. Why did they show them?” Names make sense in the body of the story, but the pics are either gratuitous dramatisation or just lazy digital content template thinking. I don’t know any of the people who lost their jobs but I wish them all the best; they don’t deserve to have these pics in this context show up near the top of Google searches for their names, as they no doubt will.
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WTF is going on? Bauer aren’t the only culprit around town of the above behavior plus talking digital first for the past few years only to a short way in abadon any vision yet they still continue to plunder and commit greater resource to producing print titles like Dolly.
Despite the headline stating Bauer’s making senior roles redundant, I’ll speculate and bet there’s still legacy folk that ought to have been cut who have escaped continuing to talk the talk and somehow managing to hang on. Instead Bauer deposes of people likely producing a whole lot more and costing the business a whole lot less. It would’ve been more impressive if they were playing the long game by retaining these folk and investing marketing dollars into the ‘To love’ sites they’ve burnt millions on building.
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Sarla is amazing. I would love to be a fly on the wall that moment when they realise what a god awful decision they made.
He has been there 6 weeks yet thinks he can lead her team better than her. The arrogance and lack of foresight is mindblowing.
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What’s mind blowing is Mumbrella and all the people that comment in here – without needing to reveal who they are but sending so much negativity into the universe. Like most media companies Bauer are needing to reorganise to best adapt to a fast changing world. It is sad that people lose their jobs but in fairness if the business is not performing it probably needs some new thinking therefore new people. The awful personal comments on this site are only a reflection of the people that write them, not the people they’re targeted at. It really does read like a sad dumping ground for disgruntled ex-Bauer staff. Take it easy guys, move on.
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