Multinational publishing company, News Corp, has announced a significant restructuring plan that could see up to 100 staff members removed from its Australian operations in an effort to save $65 million (US$43 million) in operating costs. The revised structure will now consist of three units: free mastheads, subscription-based tabloid newspapers, and what News Corp refers to as “prestige titles”, including The Australian newspaper, Vogue magazine, The Weekend Australian Magazine, and other Condé Nast titles.
This marks the second round of cuts in as many years for News Corp, which slashed costs by US$160 million during the first half of 2023 in response to falling advertising revenues. In the quarter ending March 31, the company reported a one percent decline in revenue to $2.42 billion, with net profit declining by 40 percent to $30 million. Advertising revenue fell by 8.9 percent to $358 million, and most segments within News Corp experienced a decrease in revenue, except for Dow Jones and the digital real estate services group.
The latest restructuring plan eliminates the previous state-based structure, centralizing decision-making on a national level, and abolishes the positions of several senior editors, including Lisa Muxworthy, editor-in-chief of Australian website news.com.au, and John McGourty, group director of the Editorial Innovation Centre.
Revenue across News Corp’s Australian operations fell by 10 percent in the March quarter due to lower print and digital advertising income, despite an increase in the number of digital subscribers. In a statement, News Corp explained: “As we are now living at a time when the way news and information is created and consumed is changing faster than it has ever changed, we too must continue to evolve.
The company is committed to growing consumer subscriptions and expanding its relationships with commercial clients through new digital and owned media products while maintaining a focus on quality journalism and advocating for causes important to Australians.
In response to the restructuring plan, the Media Arts and Entertainment Alliance reported that unionized staff at News Corp Australia have accepted a 12-month extension to their enterprise bargaining agreement and will receive a pay rise of 3.5 percent, contingent on redundancy payments being capped at $399,500.
However, the future of these jobs remains uncertain as News Corp has signaled its intent to expand the use of AI-produced content as a means to further reduce costs. The recent changes were discussed during a budget meeting at the company’s Holt Street headquarters in Sydney last week, attended by News UK boss Rebekah Brooks, global chief executive Robert Thomson, and chairman Lachlan Murdoch, who took over from Rupert Murdoch in 2021.