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Forced redundancies to hit The West Australian

Friday, 22 Jul 2016 17:41:16 | Jacob Kagi

Staff believe about 30 editorial jobs will go, but management has not given a figure. (Greg Wood: AFP)

Staff at Western Australia's daily newspaper are bracing for forced job cuts after being told not enough staff had signed up for a voluntary severance scheme.

Workers at The West Australian were told on Friday that an involuntary redundancy process would begin next week, less than a month after the paper announced a new wave of job cuts.

Staff have not been told how many positions will go, with management working towards a dollar saving figure rather than a set number of jobs.

However, staff are expecting that the process — including both voluntary and involuntary redundancies — would result in around 30 editorial staff leaving.

Employees who applied for voluntary redundancies were told this week whether they had been successful or not, with some applications understood to have been turned down by management.

In an email to staff, editor Brett McCarthy said leaving dates had been agreed with staff who would leave voluntarily.

"As I said earlier this week we had fewer applicants than required in some areas," he said.

"[Editor in chief Bob Cronin] and I, along with HR, are meeting with MEAA representatives on Monday to discuss the involuntary redundancy phase of the process."

Sources at the newspaper said the process had created a tense and uncertain atmosphere, with some frustrated by a lack of communication from management.

The redundancy process comes ahead of the competition watchdog's decision on whether Seven West Media's purchase of The Sunday Times can go ahead.

In announcing the redundancies last month, Seven West Media — which owns The West Australian — said the newspaper was working towards a new organisational structure amid an unstable economic environment.

AustraliaPlus


 

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