ABC makes first round of cuts with 80 jobs expected to go
The ABC is set to announce its first round of redundancies with 80 roles in its International and Asia Pacific News Centre divisions, following the axing of the Australia Network in May’s budget.
Staff are understood to have been briefed about the plans this lunchtime, which will see around 80 people take forced redundancies as the network prepares to shut down in September. More cuts are expected across the organisation which lost one per cent of its funding in the budget.
The news has drawn anger from the Community and Public Sector Worker’s Union, with president Michael Tull saying the ABC has been put in an “impossible situation” by the government but accusing the corporation of being “in breach of its industrial obligations” by making forced redundancies adding “we are considering the next step.”
ABC managing director Mark Scott has this afternoon sent around an email to staff saying the funding for international projects has been cut from $35m to $15m.
80 people to run the Australia Network? What a joke.
Agreed Peter. Everyone knows that the rest of the world is MUCH smaller than Australia. Hall of mirrors for you lad.
Just remember that this was a commercial agreement between DFAT and the ABC – nothing to do with the ABC’s Charter obligations or funding. Unfortunately, the numnuts that run the ABC then amalgamated the commercial and charter responsibilities into one. Now they are bleating “cuts in funding”. What an absolute crock. If they wanted to they could easily reduce some of the obscene overspending in other areas and maintain a better overseas service, but they choose not to because it suits them to make political capital of it at the expense of long-term, full-time staff who don’t “fit” with the current management’s view of what the ABC should be. Maybe the name should change at the same time from the ABC – Australian Broadcasting Corporation – to the SNO – Sydney News Organisation.