- SA’s largest newspaper publisher is considering cutting 115 editorial and production jobs.
- Independent Newspapers has sent notices to unions asking for consultations.
- Its CEO says it can no longer maintain its cost structure when faced with falling revenues and non-profitable titles.
- For more financial news, go to the News24 Business front page
Independent Newspapers, the publisher of titles such as The Cape Times, The Star, Isolezwe and The Mercury, is contemplating cutting 115 editorial and production jobs in a bid to remain sustainable in a harsh operating environment.
The newspaper group sent a section 189 notice to unions on Friday indicating that it wants to hold consultations ahead of the possible dismissals.
The media group’s CEO, Takudzwa Hove, said in the letter that Independent Newspapers could “no longer maintain a high, largely fixed cost structure considering the declining revenue base and evolving operating processes”.
The letter adds: “The loss of revenue and non-profitability of titles, which was evident prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, has worsened and continues to decline.”
Other titles in the Independent Newspapers stable include the Independent on Saturday, Sunday Tribune, Saturday Star, Sunday Independent, Pretoria News and Daily Voice.
The proposed cuts appear not to impact staff at Independent Online, the online sister site to Independent Newspapers.
Independent Newspapers is an indirect subsidiary of businessman Iqbal Survé’s Sekunjalo group.
Smaller and better
Hove said the proposed cuts would result in “leaner and more dynamic functional teams”.
The CEO said Independent Newspapers would not be able to sustain itself as a “legacy print publication” based on its current cost structures. The group was struggling to compete with competitors who had already downsized their newsrooms, he added.
READ | Union wants R300m back from Survé-linked media group as it can’t pay pension, funeral bills
SA’s newspaper industry has been facing tough market conditions for years, with plummeting circulation and declining advertising leading to regular bouts of layoffs.
Journalism job cuts skyrocketed during the start of the Covid-19 lockdowns three years ago, with hundreds of positions lost in the first few months of the national shutdown alone.
Changing reading habits have been tough on newspapers and magazines.
Figures published by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show that all SA’s daily and weekend newspapers sold fewer copies in the first quarter of 2023 than they did in 2022, for example. The only papers to boost their annual circulation were the Daily Maverick’s print edition and the Lesotho Times.
In the letter, Hove said talks would be held with staff next month to see if they can hash out any alternatives to dismissals.
If no remedies can be found to cut costs or boost revenues, termination letters will be sent to employees in late September.
Impacted staff will then be asked to apply for new positions in a restructured company, some of which will come with lower pay.
“Unsuccessful applicants in the new structure recruitment process will be retrenched,” states the notice, which repeatedly emphasises that no decision on job cuts has yet been made.
The letter comes a few weeks after the publisher proposed voluntary severance packages to staff.
In April, meanwhile, Independent Newspapers announced that six titles would be merged into three publications to cut costs.
A spokesperson for Independent Media said this week that the letter was an “internal matter”.
“Any speculation or probing about the number of jobs impacted by a process which has just started, would be unnecessarily distressing.”