Nine-owned Pedestrian Group is cutting dozens of jobs as part of a major restructuring that will split the business in two.
Pedestrian Group chief executive Matt Rowley announced the news to staff on Monday morning and revealed he would also be leaving the group as part of the restructuring.
As part of the changes, the group will soon abandon its licensing agreements to publish third-party brands including Vice, Refinery29, Gizmodo, Lifehacker and Kotaku, resulting in the loss of up to 40 jobs.
As a result, Nine would focus solely on its own brands, Pedestrian and Pedestrian TV.
Kate McGregor, editor-in-chief of Refinery29, was among those who lost her job.
“Today, I, the Refinery29 Australia team and dozens of my colleagues at the Pedestrian Group were made redundant. My heart is heavy,” she wrote on social media.
‘Needless to say, parting ways with Refinery29 Australia and Pedestrian Group is personally very sad, but after more than ten years in the media, I have learned that you have to know how to play the cards you are dealt.’
Athina Mallis, editor-in-chief of Gizmodo Australia, revealed she had only been in the role for less than six months before her position was axed.
Pedestrian Group chief executive Matt Rowley left the publisher as part of a major cost-saving restructuring effort on Monday.
Nine’s news website director Kerri Elstub told staff that even more jobs would be cut as the company continues to tighten its budget.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m upset, angry and sad that the digital media industry is shrinking. Good, hard-working journalists are losing their jobs.
“We work tirelessly to ensure that the site looks good, that the text is clean and that the stories are truthful and original. Hopefully our work will not be in vain,” he said.
Nine bought 60 percent of Pedestrian for $10 million in 2015 before purchasing the rest of the company for $39 million in 2018.
It’s another blow to Nine’s staff after the CEO announced hundreds of jobs would be cut as part of a $30 million cost-cutting plan for the company.
“Of our national team of almost 5,000 people, around 200 jobs are expected to be impacted at Nine, including some vacant and casual roles that will not be filled,” Sneesby said.
“For us to continue to invest in digital growth opportunities at Nine, we must continue to responsibly manage costs throughout the cycle.”
The job cuts include 38 positions in the high-profile news and current affairs broadcast team, which spans 9News and 60 Minutes.
It’s another blow for Nine’s staff after the CEO announced hundreds of jobs would be cut as part of a $30 million cost-cutting plan for the company.
“Of our national team of almost 5,000 people, around 200 jobs are expected to be impacted at Nine, including some vacant and casual roles that will not be filled,” Sneesby said.
“For us to continue to invest in digital growth opportunities at Nine, we must continue to responsibly manage costs throughout the cycle.”
Pictured is Karl Stefanovic, presenter of the Today Show. Nine has revealed that 38 jobs are to be cut from the news and current affairs team. Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting that Stefanovic’s role will be axed
The job cuts include 38 positions in the high-profile news and current affairs broadcast team, which spans 9News and 60 Minutes.
In addition, 90 jobs will be cut from Nine’s editorial division, affecting roles at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review.
Mr Sneesby attributed the job cuts to the likely termination of a commercial deal with Meta (the owner of Facebook and Instagram) to pay for the news articles it publishes, as well as a weakened advertising market.
“These are difficult decisions and I recognise that this will be an uncertain period for some of you. It is important to reiterate that Nine remains in a strong position,” Sneesby said.
“All of our business units are either fully digital or have rapidly growing digital revenues, and each maintains a leadership position in their respective markets.”
The announcements follow the departure of news chief Darren Wick in March after a female employee made a complaint about inappropriate conduct.
Her replacement, Fiona Dear, told staff on Friday that the job cuts would mean a “loss of 38 roles in the division, 12 of which are already vacant”.
“We are also looking to identify potential savings with casual and freelance roles and new technologies,” Dear said.
Nine’s staff cuts announcement came the same week that Seven West Media laid off around 150 staff in a major round of redundancies, with three senior executives leaving the company.
Chief Executive Jeff Howard told staff in an email Tuesday that cost cutting was necessary, especially in the wake of Meta’s withdrawal.
“A number of roles in the company will change and unfortunately some people will be leaving us,” Howard said.
“We will work hard to reduce the impact on people as much as we can and ensure our people receive all possible support.”
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