News Corp to cut hundreds of jobs in restructure

by

News Corp is on the verge of announcing large-scale job cuts as it restructures across its Australian publishing business, as well as moving many of its regional and community newspapers into a digital-only model.

Sources told The Australian Financial Review that News Corp could announce hundreds of job cuts as part of a major strategic review of its community and regional newspaper portfolio and restructure of its local publishing business, including metropolitan newspapers. The cuts could be announced as early as Thursday. News Corp declined to comment.

https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.315%2C$multiply_0.7214%2C$ratio_1.776846%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/e_sharpen:25%2Cq_42%2Cf_auto/3134ac01c7f41b9526df9763c3f58764566f6272
News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller said it would look at alternative structures for its regional and community business. AAP

News Corp has hired Deloitte to help it cut costs at the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media company. Sources said the cuts could be between 650 and 1000 jobs.

News Corp's metro newspapers include The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun. Some of News Regional Media's Queensland title include The Daily Mercury, The Morning Bulletin, The Queensland Times, and The Observer.

News Corp's community portfolio includes titles such as the Wentworth Courier, Mosman Daily, North Shore Times and Manly Daily.

The Financial Review earlier this month revealed News Corp Australia’s plan to close a swath of community and regional print editions in favour of digital only models. It followed conversations about a potential sale of the regional and community portfolio to Australian Community Media, which is owned by Antony Catalano and Alex Waislitz, also revealed by the Financial Review.

Within the regional and community restructure, cohorts of high-value print mastheads would remain and a model for digital only newsrooms, which feed readers into metropolitan newspapers, would be ramped up. It could also centralise a number of its editorial and commercial operations.

News Corp Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller confirmed the company would follow through with a restructure of the community and regional portfolio in a staff email earlier in May, but did not provide any details.

"In recent weeks we have been undertaking a review of our Australian portfolio and structures and have had discussions with the most logical acquirer of our regional and community titles," Mr Miller told staff.

"Those discussions have not resulted in a transaction and we are now considering alternative structures to best focus News Corp Australia on maximising digital and growth opportunities."

On April 9, News Corp Australia suspended printing its 60 community newspapers across NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, turning them into digital mastheads only, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its dramatic effects on the economy and advertising market. This did not include News Corp's regional titles.

"A thorough re-evaluation of our assets continues and a strategic review of our community and regional newspapers in Australia is at an advanced stage," News Corp global chief executive Robert Thomson told investors at the company’s third-quarter results earlier in May.

Advertising revenue across media companies have taken a massive hit during the health crisis.

In March, News Corp announced it would look to cut costs across the Australian business, including signficant pay cuts for the executive team, while flagging a round of redundancies to come.

Foxtel, which is 65 per cent owned by News Corp, has slashed more than 270 jobs since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis.