Mediacorp retrenchment

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

MediaCorp redeploys 50 staff, lays off 33 whose jobs have been made redundant

SINGAPORE: Against the backdrop of a radically and rapidly changing media landscape, about 50 staff at MediaCorp are being redeployed and 33 staff will be laid off.

This was revealed by Mr Shaun Seow, the chief executive officer of the Singapore-based media company, which recently overhauled its platform-based organisational structure to become more customer-centric, in an email to staff on Thursday morning (Apr 9). The email was obtained by Channel NewsAsia, a 24-hour news organisation owned and operated by MediaCorp.

According to the internal memo, the company had reviewed every unit and consequently redeployed more than 50 employees to growth areas. Thirty-three other staff will be retrenched. Mr Seow said that the company had been “unable to redeploy them”, an outcome that left him with “a heavy heart”.

These retrenched staff, who represent just over 1 per cent of MediaCorp’s employee base, will be offered severance payments and outplacement support.

MediaCorp – whose operations span television, radio, newspapers, magazines and a variety of digital platforms – has responded to the evolving global media scene, not only by reorganising its corporate structure but also redesigning processes to be more efficient, investing in technology to stay relevant as well as realigning resources to support the company’s transformation.

The company has also removed some vacancies arising from natural attrition and outsourced areas such as magazine distribution and SAP IT to focus on core competencies. As result, 12 other staff will be offered jobs as part of outsourcing agreements with MediaCorp’s partners.

Channel NewsAsia understands that one such partner is Pansing, an industry leader in book and magazine distribution.

Thanking affected staff for their contributions, Mr Seow said “the retrenchments were not a decision that was taken lightly”. Urging MediaCorp staff to stay “agile”, and pledging to invest in new competencies like digital, he concluded that the company’s recent actions will yield a “leaner, more collaborative organisation that is better equipped to innovate and stay relevant”.


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