Australia's second largest press group Fairfax Media announced Tuesday it would slash five percent of its workforce, or 550 jobs, as part of a plan to save 50 million dollars (43 million US). Unions said the redundancies in Australia and New Zealand would affect around 180 journalists in the group that publishes the flagship Sydney Morning Herald and the Age newspapers, Agence France-Presse (AFP) has reported.
"A wide range of initiatives will result in a head count reduction of approximately 550 employees in Australia and New Zealand, or approximately five percent of the company's full time workforce," Fairfax said in a statement. The cuts, part of a restructuring after Fairfax last year merged with the Rural Press group and acquired a major broadcasting company, will affect editorial, printing, maintenance, paper and fitting staff.
The measures will deliver around 50 million dollars in annualised savings, with 25 million dollars expected to be reflected in 2008/09 annual results.
"Media companies fit for the modern media world need to be lean and agile," chief executive David Kirk said in a statement. "This far-reaching programme will position us well for the next stage of our growth and development."
Fairfax has carried out two previous restructuring waves that have saved it 52 million dollars, while the merger with Rural Press and the acquisition of Southern Cross Radio produced a further 53 million dollars in savings, Kirk said. Fairfax last week announced a 46.8 percent jump in net profit to 386.9 million dollars for 2007-08 on the back of a strong performance from its online businesses.
