SYDNEY, Thursday: Less than a week after German-owned magazine publisher Bauer Media axed 140 staff, another 60 have been cut from the business and a further 14 stood down.
The cuts came by Zoom this morning as Bauer ceo Brendon Hill (now relocated from Auckland to Sydney) welcomed Pacific Magazines staff to the business after acquiring the company formerly owned by Seven West Media for A$40m, processed last week.
Hill told 60 Pacific Magazines staffers they would be let go today
Aussie adsheet Mumbrella reports that the Pacific Magazines staff were told in a Zoom call with Hill that 60 staff would be let go and a further 14 stood down for at least three to six months. The impacted staff were then told individually that they would be let go.
“Rumours abound of negotiations to buy some of the Bauer NZ titles – but the company has yet to comment.”
Last week, Bauer Media announced four of its Australian titles would be suspended for the foreseeable future – OK, NW, Elle Australia and Harper’s Bazaar. Additionally, several Pacific Magazines titles will also be suspended for three to six months, including Men’s Health and Women’s Health.
Hill blamed the closures and staff cuts on the loss of ad revenue associated with Covid-19. Bauer closed its New Zealand offices early on in the pandemic, resulting in redundancies for its entire workforce and the closure of all NZ titles.
Rumours abound of negotiations to buy some of the Bauer NZ titles – but the company has yet to comment.
Meanwhile, the media industry’s Australian union, the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has accused magazine publisher Bauer Media of being “cruel” and “callous” with its staff.
The impacted 60 staff, and a further 15 who were stood down, were told over Zoom about their futures, just three days after Bauer completed its $40m acquisition of Pacific Magazines, formerly part of the Seven West Media business.
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