The Australian company Nine Entertainment will cut around 200 jobs to deal with a weaker advertising market and as a content deal with Meta, which runs Instagram and Facebook, ends. Meta has refused to renegotiate commercial deals to pay media companies for their content under the government’s News Media Bargaining Code.
The company, in internal notes, told staff on Friday morning that between 70 and 90 positions would be made redundant across its publishing business – which runs The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review – with 38 coming from television news and current affairs. The remainder will come from corporate and digital, which includes the Pedestrian and nine.com.au platforms.
Nine chief executive Mike Sneesby stated that the company was outperforming its peers in earning revenue from digital and subscription sources: "However, Nine is not immune to the economic headwinds impacting many businesses globally. To keep investing in digital growth opportunities across Nine, we must continue to responsibly manage costs through the cycle. Last financial year, we improved 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," he said in an email to staff.
Nine has around 5000 staff. The job cuts would represent 4 per cent of the workforce.
