Australia’s media group Nine Entertainment will make 200 jobs redundant, with its chief executive citing advertising challenges and revenue loss in the aftermath of the Meta deal.
Nine was the third media corporation that recently went through restructuring at a time of economic uncertainty, following the footsteps of Seven West Media and News Corp.
According to media reports, Nine will slash 90 jobs from its publishing arms, including legacy media outlets such as the Australian Financial Review, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the Age. The group will also cut 38 jobs from its current affairs and broadcast team.
In an email to staff on June 28, which was obtained by AAP, Nine CEO Mike Sneesby said the redundancies were important to “responsibly manage costs through the cycle” and “keep investing in digital growth opportunities across Nine.”
‘Today, we will announce measures in our publishing business to offset the loss of revenue from the Meta deal and challenges in the advertising market,” Mr. Sneesby said.
“Unfortunately, this will result in some of our colleagues leaving us in the coming months.
“Last financial year, we were able to improve the efficiency of our operations, but in light of recent market events, we are reviewing key parts of our business to identify further potential savings.”
In March, Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced it would not renew its multimillion-dollar deals with Australian media outlets for content once contracts expire in 2024.
The social media company coined three-year deals with 13 Australian news companies to pay for their news content in 2021.
The pact was reportedly worth a total of around $70 million a year for the Australian news industry.
Nine’s chief executive noted that the decision was “not something we want to do but it is something we need to do to continue to build on a successful platform of high-quality journalism and digital subscription growth.”
He noted that an operational review of these businesses is underway and that the company will support impacted team members throughout the process.
“These are tough decisions and I acknowledge it will be an uncertain period for some of you,” he said.
“It’s important to reiterate that Nine remains in a strong position.
“All of our business units are either completely digital or have rapidly growing digital revenues—and each one maintains a leading position in their respective markets.”
It came after Seven West Media on June 25 revealed it would cut up to 150 roles, including journalists from TV and print divisions as well as sales, marketing, and print staff, according to media reports.
