The ABC is poised to make a significant announcement this Thursday, with industry reports suggesting that up to 100 jobs may be on the line.
This major development comes ahead of a sweeping restructure of the corporation that is set to take effect on 1 July.
The Guardian is reporting that certain staff have been summoned to meetings with management. David Anderson, the Managing Director, is expected to provide further clarity regarding the impending job cuts before the end of the financial year.
This upheaval is a part of ABC’s strategic shift away from traditional broadcasting towards a more digitised future. The corporation plans to channel resources into bolstering its digital platforms, namely ABC iview, ABC Listen, and ABC News, and to heighten their utilisation, as outlined in its five-year strategy released last Friday.
When approached for comment yesterday by The Guardian, the ABC chose to remain silent.
“Change is never easy,“ conceded Anderson in a statement last month, admitting that the restructure would significantly impact their leadership team.
“We will endeavour to redeploy as many affected employees as we can. However, redundancies are expected and we are currently consulting with the leaders who will be affected.”
This restructure will be the most significant since 2017, is set to see a shift in roles across the organisation. Regional journalists will be relocated into the news division, while radio networks, including Radio National and Triple J, will merge into a unified content division alongside television.
This new content division, headed by recently appointed Chris Oliver-Taylor, will oversee all screen, audio, and digital content. News programming will be managed by the news director, Justin Stevens. Oliver-Taylor, who previously served as Netflix’s director of production for Australia and New Zealand, joined the corporation in March.
The job cuts were announced in the same week ABC staff secured their first pay rise following a protracted industrial campaign. Employees will receive a 4% increase on their base rate of pay and a one-off bonus of $1500. An additional 4% pay increase is due in October.
The corporation’s five-year plan will usher in substantial changes to work practices, with redundancies anticipated across all divisions as ABC transitions into a digital-first model. Anderson acknowledged the need for a “significant transition” towards an integrated digital operation, driven by technological, audience behaviour, and demographic changes.
“By 2028, the ABC will serve more Australians on the platform of their choice with made-for-digital content and journalism on ABC News, ABC iview, ABC listen, and on major third-party platforms,”
Anderson stated.
“Australians trust and value the ABC, and this will not change. As we navigate this period of digital evolution, Australians can continue to depend on us for the content and services that inform, educate, and entertain.”
These cuts represent the first large-scale job losses at ABC since 2020 when 250 positions were eliminated across news, entertainment, and regional divisions to address a $41m annual budget shortfall.
This follows a funding reduction of $84m in 2018 due to an indexation freeze imposed by the former Coalition government, which has reduced the ABC’s budget by $783m since its term began in 2014.
SOURCE – The Guardian
