Around 150 Seven West Media (SWM) employees have been made redundant amid a major round of redundancies, with three senior executives leaving the company.
Chief executive Jeff Howard told staff in an email on Tuesday that costs needed to be cut, especially after Meta decided not to renew its agreement to pay for Australian news content.
Meta owns Facebook and Instagram.
“Several roles in the company will change and, unfortunately, some people will leave us,” Howard said.
“We will work hard to reduce the impact on people as much as we can, and we will ensure that our people are fully supported.”
Among the changes at SWM are the departures of chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette, director of marketing and audience Melissa Hopkins and sporting director and managing director of Seven in Melbourne Lewis Martin.
The combined trio has dedicated 65 years to SWM, and Howard said the workplace “will be very different without them.”
“I wish them all the best for the future and hope our paths cross again, hopefully at a less challenging time for the industry,” he said.
Mr. Burnette had worked at the company for 34 years, while Mr. Lewis had worked for SWM for three decades.
Around 150 Seven West Media employees have been laid off amid a major round of redundancies, with three senior executives leaving the company (pictured: Seven West Media chief executive Jeff Howard).
Chief executive Jeff Howard told staff in an email on Tuesday that cost cutting was necessary, especially after Meta decided not to renew its deal to pay for Australian news.
Among the changes at Seven were the departures of chief revenue officer Kurt Burnette, marketing and audience director Melissa Hopkins and Seven’s Melbourne sporting director and managing director Lewis Martin.
Ms Hopkins joined the company in March last year after working at Optus.
The job cuts are part of attempts to save the company $100 million, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Mr Howard told staff that while SWM was performing well across print, digital and TV, “our high cost base of $1.2 billion a year is not sustainable and needs to be reduced”.
“As we look into FY25, we face continued upward pressure on this cost base,” he said.
SWM, owner of The West Australian newspaper, will move forward with three divisions: digital, TV and Western Australia.
A chief operating officer will also be named for the company, controlled by billionaire Kerry Stokes.
Howard took over as CEO in late April.
