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Retrenchment woes
Managing director of BDFM, Mzimkulu Malunga, says the company is taking stock of its business considering the current economic climate. "There are some hard decisions to be made. We are in discussion with staff. It is possible that retrenchments could take place."
He would not be drawn on the details.
Earlier this year, some 50 staffers from the Avusa-owned Daily Dispatch in the Eastern Cape chose to take retrenchment packages or early retirement. The staff came from a number of departments, including editorial and sales. There are now about 190 people working at the title.
Editor, Andrew Trench, says that due to the number of staff members who left voluntarily, the company "did not have to enter into a process of forced retrenchments".
He adds that the current staff is feeling the pressure. "We are feeling the strain. We are working with a smaller team now, so many of us are doing a lot more work. But this has not noticeably affected the quality of the newspaper."
The current economic climate has affected several media companies. Media24 informed staff members in November 2008 about company plans to cut 10% - 20% of its editorial staff at its Afrikaans newspapers Die Burger, Beeld, Volksblad and Rapport. A number of staffers chose to take voluntary early retirement/severance, which reduced the number of people facing forced retrenchments to three.
At the Independent Newspaper Group, Jeremy Gordin, associate editor of Sunday Independent, and production manager Hans Pienaar were retrenched late last year. The group has since refused to comment on retrenchments.
It seems retrenchments are not on the cards for Caxton's newspaper staff. "We are actually hiring people. Over the past few years we have run a tight ship by restricting costs as much as possible. At times like this, it really pays off," says Greg Stewart, publisher of the Citizen.
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