Redundancies hit Private Media after a ‘very challenging year for advertising revenue’
Crikey publisher Private Media has given staff until 4pm today to self-nominate for a redundancy payout.
According to reports published in The Australian on Friday, editorial staff at the publishing group were informed of imminent redundancies at a meeting on Thursday afternoon.
In a statement shared to Mumbrella, Private Media CEO Will Hayward cited a difficult year for advertising revenue.
“Like much of the market, Private Media has had a very challenging year for advertising revenue. We have now made the decision to reduce our commercial headcount. We are working with the union on any changes to our editorial team. ”
Eight redundancies were announced in total, including three editorial roles and five non-editorial roles.
As well as Crikey, Private Media’s publishing stable includes SmartCompany, The Mandarin and Inc.Australia.
In an internal document shared to The Australian, it was outlined that those receiving redundancies would be informed on Wednesday, amidst a broader restructure of the organisation, with all staff expected to receive new position descriptions by December 15.
The document attributed the cuts to a tough economic climate, citing falling revenue, despite a a number of audience initiatives and cost-cutting exercises throughout the year.
The restructure comes months after Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch was made to pay A$1.3 in legal costs to Private Media in the aftermath of his failed defamation suit against the publisher.
Murdoch dropped the defamation proceedings in April after Fox Corporation settled a A$1.16 billion lawsuit levelled by Dominion in the US, with Private Media having weeks earlier proposed a new defence that tied the local case to the US proceedings.
Mumbrella has approached Private Media for comment.
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