High profile presenters among Nine job cuts

Nathan Jolly

November 11, 2025 9:20

After 31 years at Nine, Jonathan Uptin has been let go

Nine News Queensland sports anchor Jonathan Uptin and Sydney news and weather presenter Amber Sherlock are among the approximately 50 job cuts being made across Nine’s streaming and broadcast division.

Sherlock was absent during yesterday evening’s news broadcast, replaced by presenter Sophie Walsh. She had been with the network since 2007, working on Today as the show’s business reporter, before moving to weekend anchor. She has been a news anchor and weather presenter at Nine News Sydney since 2011.

Nine News Queensland sports presenter Jonathan Uptin was also made redundant. Uptin had been with the network since 1994, working across various newsrooms in Sydney, Newcastle, Darwin, and Queensland – where he replaced Wally Lewis as weeknight sports presenter in early 2023. At one stage, during Karl Stefanovic’s elongated contract negotiations, he was floated as a possible replacement for the Today role.

Amber Sherlock was absent during yesterday’s news broadcast

Nine News Adelaide presenter Kate Collins was also let go in what she described as a “blindside”, with her co-anchor Brenton Ragless left to read Monday evening’s news alone. Collins had been at Nine Adelaide since 2007.

Queensland-based promo editor Leon Cull was also made redundant as part of the restructuring, as was operations co-ordinator Jessica Llewelyn.

Sydney’s TV news director Michael Best emailed his team on Monday saying those in his team impacted by job cuts would be informed “as soon as possible, ideally by the end of today where feasible, to provide clarity.” Mumbrella understands a number of staff from the Sydney team will be let go on Tuesday.

Best added: “I understand this is a time of uncertainty and I want to assure you that my priority is to support everyone through this process.”

Interestingly, a number of these sacked staffers have weathered public controversies in recent times.

Last month, The Australian revealed that various Nine staff members were accidentally emailed sensitive HR documents detailing multiple complaints against on-screen talent.

Uptin was subject to “a number of accusations colleagues made … which have all been rigorously investigated and thoroughly dismissed by the network”, according to The Australian. These complaints were made during a workplace survey in 2023, and alleged “erratic behaviour”. Further complaints were made after a trip to Las Vegas in early 2024 to cover the NRL’s inaugural US showcase.

Uptin was asked by Nine’s Queensland managing director Kylie Blucher to take a drug test, which he passed. He was off work from late June to October 2024 while the complaints were investigated by third-party Intersection.

Sherlock was the centre of an embarrassing leaked tape incident in 2017 that showed her berating colleague Julie Snook and demanding she put on a black jacket before going to air – as all three women on camera were wearing white. The segment went viral, and was picked up by global news outlets, and the Jimmy Kimmel show.

“‘I need Julie to put a jacket on because we’re all in white. I asked her before we came on… Julie you need to put a jacket on .. C’mon! I asked you two hours ago” – the infamous ‘jacketgate’

Promo editor Leon Cull also got into hot water in recent months, when a promo video he made had to be recut after he snuck himself into a montage of on-screen talent.

These jobs are among approximately 50 roles to be impacted, as part of the network’s $100 million cost-out program, which was increased from an initial $90 million – as revealed at the network’s AGM on Friday.

Nine’s TV boss Amanda Laing informed staff members of the cuts on Monday, saying the network has “commenced consultation with some team members, whose roles within Nine’s streaming and broadcast division are impacted by our new operating model.”

Mumbrella understands the number of cuts may be fewer than 50, due to possible redeployment across the business, and that the majority of the redundancies will be made in the Sydney newsroom.

On top of the direct job losses, there are also some vacant roles which won’t be filled, plus a number of contractual roles that won’t be renewed. Nine currently has approximately 2,900 people in the streaming and broadcasting division.

Adelaide favourite Kate Collins will no longer be at Nine

Nine confirmed the cuts in an email sent to Mumbrella on Monday morning.

“We have today commenced consultation with some team members, whose roles within Nine’s Streaming and Broadcast division are impacted by our new operating model,” the statement reads.

“The new operating model formally brings together teams across Stan, Channel 9 and 9Now. It is designed to reduce duplication, drive greater collaboration and deliver commercial growth for Nine, while working to offset the challenging external advertising market.

“Our primary focus during the consultation is supporting these team members through access to our employee wellbeing provider, as well as exploring redeployment opportunities within the broader Nine Group.”

The redundancies are part of a company restructure announced in January, which saw the streaming and broadcasting divisions come under one umbrella, with Stan no longer acting as a stand-alone business.

A new leadership team was appointed in June, with executives given expanded responsibilities across multiple brands. In addition, a lot of programming decisions are being made across Stan and Nine’s free-to-air channels, such as the expansion of MAFS to include a spin-off series on Stan, and the straddling of Premier League football across both platforms.

In a trading update released last Friday, Nine reported its Total TV revenue for September and October was “down mid-high single digits” year-on-year.