Canada's Postmedia Network announces new round of staff cuts
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Version 0 of 1. Postmedia Network, the troubled Canadian newspaper publisher, has announced a new round of staff costs after reporting a severe quarterly loss. It is seeking to reduce salary costs by 20% through voluntary redundancies. If its target isn’t met, mandatory redundancies are possible. In January, Postmedia cut 90 jobs and merged newsrooms in four cities. In July, the company announced a restructuring plan to reduce its heavy debt burden. The fourth-quarter loss totalled $99.4m (£61.3m) compared with a loss of $54m (£33.3m) in the same period a year ago. Revenue for the quarter, which ended on 21 August, was $198.7m (£122.5m), down from $230.2m (£142m). Postmedia’s digital revenue rose by 0.8%. Over the full 12 months, the company said it lost $352.5m (£217.4m). That compared with a loss of $263.4m (£162.4m) in the previous year. Chief executive Paul Godfrey said during a call to analysts: “We must accelerate the transformation of our business operations to align our cost structure with our revenue outlook”. Postmedia publishes the National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald plus 12 more dailies and over 40 local weeklies. Sources: Canadian Press via Globe & Mail/CBC News |