Hot on the heels of news of Channel 4’s advertising downturn and economic pressures, comes news that it is to lay off 150 employees and will cut spending by £100 million over two years.
Channel 4 is proposing to reduce its staff component of approximately 800 people by up to 150 posts. The broadcaster will offer voluntary redundancies and consult staff on other ways to minimize compulsory job losses.
Chief executive, Andy Duncan, said: “Channel 4 has outperformed its competitors in recent years but the economic downturn is now affecting the entire media industry. Our objective as a public organization is to operate at break even while maximizing creative investment. With revenues falling, we’ve no alternative but to cut costs. My particular regret is the impact of these job losses amongst our skilled and dedicated workforce.’
Channel 4’s latest round of cost efficiencies has been prompted by a decline in TV advertising in 2008 of up to 5 percent.
