Monday, June 18, 2012

Fairfax to slash 1900 jobs

As part of the restructuring of the business 1900 jobs will be shed over three years and major broadsheets the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age will be downsized to tabloid format.


It will also fall in line with its main competitor, News Limited, and introduce paywall subscription services for its flagship online services in 2013.

Printing facilities will be closed at Chullora in Sydney and Tullamarine in Melbourne by June 2014.
In a statement, Fairfax said the plants "have significant surplus capacity which is no longer required".
Fairfax says the total saving is expected to be $235 million on an annualised basis by June, 2015.
The papers will prioritise online reporting in a "digital-first editorial model" aimed at increasing flexibility.

Last week, the world's richest woman Gina Rinehart increased her interest in the company to 18 percent and earlier this year the company announced it was moving some jobs offshore to New Zealand.

Former editor of The Age Michael Gawenda says "it may be too late" for Fairfax Media.
"It is a sad morning," Mr Gawenda said.
"It's not good news for journalism, it's certainly not good news for people who love newspapers, but it's not surprising."
"I think it's too late to do that, nothing like that will save print," Mr Gawenda said.
"My view is that you will find that the Monday to Friday print versions of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald will cease to exist."
"This is a mantra from all the newspaper companies now: 'We will maintain quality journalism while we cut our staff in half.'
"How are they going to do that? It's a meaningless mantra unless you can explain how you're going to do it."


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