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At Mediahuis, the publisher of De Standaard, Gazet van Antwerpen, Het Belang van Limburg and Het Nieuwsblad, 19.5 full-time equivalents (FTEs) will disappear. This would involve a maximum of 23 people. The newspaper publisher must grow even more digitally and therefore the finishing of the printed newspapers must be optimized. CEO Koen Verwee reported this on Tuesday after a works council meeting.
Source: BELGA
Yesterday at 8:42 PM
Mediahuis notes that print revenues are declining year after year, partly due to rapidly digitizing consumer behavior. At the same time, according to Verwee, the company has been experiencing good growth in the number of digital readers and digital subscribers for several years. “Our digital advertising revenues are also increasing,” the CEO wrote in a message to employees on Tuesday.
In order to remain financially healthy in the future and to absorb the further decline in print and increase in costs, Mediahuis must accelerate digital growth and evolve into a “future-proof organization” with an absolute digital focus in all departments, according to Verwee. “In this context, we explained a number of organizational changes to the members of the works council on Tuesday afternoon. The aim of these changes is to bring more digital focus and simplify processes where possible.”
The printed newspapers are optimized. “The three popular titles, Het Nieuwsblad, Gazet van Antwerpen and Het Belang van Limburg, will optimize their editorial work in this area and create mutual synergy in terms of the finishing of the paper newspaper. All this with respect for the individuality of each title,” it says.
As a result, certain tasks within the editorial staff of those three titles are no longer available, more specifically the final editing and layout of the printed newspaper. Tasks within editorial services are also disappearing due to the declining advertising market. All this leads to a reduction in the number of FTEs by 14.7.
No jobs would be lost at De Standaard.
Mediahuis also wants to prepare its marketing organization for the digital future. “We are evolving from an organization oriented on brands to a ‘future-proof’ marketing organization that is built around specific digital expertise centers. These make it possible to make maximum use of the available knowledge across the four titles,” Verwee explains.
As a result, the publisher also provides adapted operation within the design studio and the webshop team. “The changes within our marketing organization mean that certain tasks will disappear here too, resulting in a reduction in the number of FTE by 4.8 in the marketing, design studio and webshop domains,” says Verwee.
The CEO is confident that departments involved have now been informed and that consultation with the social partners has also started. Personal conversations with the employees involved will take place in the coming days.