Seven West Media will reportedly make up to 150 jobs redundant after the network flagged further cost-cutting exercises in February, by then-CFO Jeff Howard and former CEO James Warburton.
See also: Seven West Media redundancies: Three of network’s top executives exit
As reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, Howard, who is now SWM’s CEO following Warburton’s departure, will inform staff on Tuesday of the company-wide cuts.
SMH reports that the redundancies are not limited to any one division, with journalists from the television and print divisions, sales and marketing roles, as well as printing roles to be cut.
A Seven spokesperson declined to comment.
At a parliamentary inquiry into social media held last week, Howard, alongside Nine CEO Mike Sneesby and News Corp Australia executive chair Michael Miller, told the parliamentary committee that the network would have to find cost efficiencies if the revenue from its commercial arrangement with Meta ends this year.
The parliamentary committee was called in May after Meta said it would not renew its commercial agreements with local publishers. Meta signed the agreements in 2021, and are due to expire this year.
The reported Seven West Media redundancies come after Seven journalist Robert Ovadia was sacked by the network after an internal investigation was conducted into allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
In an interview with The Australian, the Sydney-based crime reporter confirmed he had been fired after 23 years with the network.
“Yes I’ve been sacked and there will be more to say about that in the appropriate forum at the appropriate time,” Ovadia told The Australian.
Ovadia’s exit is the latest in a number of senior staff departures for Seven in the past month. Craig McPherson stepped down after Seven’s Spotlight program became embroiled in Bruce Lehrmann‘s failed defamation battle against 10 and Lisa Wilkinson. Replacing him in April was Anthony De Ceglie, appointed Seven West Media’s new director of news and current affairs.
In the wake of ex-Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach‘s evidence, EP Mark Llewellyn also left the network.
Also in April, Seven settled a defamation claim with the man it incorrectly named as the Bondi Junction attacker, reaching an out-of-court settlement on confidential terms.
See also: Seven reporter Robert Ovadia ‘sacked’ after allegations of inappropriate behaviour
News Corp has also recently made several roles redundant in its current restructure. After seven years with News Corp Australia, head of national trading and NSW consortium agencies, Alexandra Bliekast, was announced to be exiting the business in June.
Bliekast’s exit came as The Sydney Morning Herald reported News Corp Australia will “make up to 80 roles in its sales workforce redundant” as part of its ongoing restructuring. A News Corp spokesperson told the Nine masthead that the claims of a 40% reduction in sales staff was “wildly inaccurate”.
A News Corp Australia spokesman told Mediaweek: “Like most companies, we do not provide commentary on employment matters but the story that first appeared in the Nine Entertainment tabloids, The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, contained multiple errors, including the egregiously false claim 40 percent of sales staff were to lose their jobs.”
Other exits so far include Michael Wilkins, managing director of national sport brands, Marcus Hooke, general manager of print production, and Michael Desiere, head of sales – NSW independent agencies and major direct.
Two of the first high-profile exits were Lisa Muxworthy, the editor-in-chief of news.com.au – the most popular news website in the country – and John McGourty, the Editorial Innovation Centre’s group director.