UTV to axe 28 jobs

Published Thursday 16 October 2008 at 16:25 by Michael Quinn

Three programme strands and 28 jobs are to be axed as Northern Ireland’s commercial broadcaster UTV implements a “significant reduction” in staff numbers at its Belfast headquarters.

A leaked memo to staff signed by managing director Michael Wilson blamed industry regulator Ofcom’s “unexpected announcement of a dramatic reduction in our regional licence requirements” for the cuts.

Nine redundancies will fall in the camera, sound and studio services departments along with 14 casualties among journalists and administrators. Two presenters and three editors will also fall victim to the proposed changes.

Locally-made programmes under threat are believed to be the weekly current affairs slots Insight and Late and Live, as well as the daily tea-time magazine UTV Live. However, management also announced plans to replace them with a weekly culture and lifestyle programme and a four-nightly news and current affairs programme. Three new positions for cross-platform journalists will also be created.

Wilson had earlier emailed staff inviting them to apply for voluntary redundancy. “However, once this scheme has closed, should the company seek further staff reductions on a compulsory redundancy basis, the compensation package available to staff will be significantly reduced,” Wilson’s initial memo added.

The cuts will only apply to UTV’s television division, leaving its radio and internet operations untouched. Under new Ofcom guidelines, UTV’s weekly news coverage is expected to shrink in 2009 by 80 minutes to four hours while its non-news programmes will be halved to just 90 minutes per week.

In August, UTV’s interim results for the first half of 2008 showed its television division’s operating profit had fallen 15% to £4.7 million. The company has yet to respond to Ofcom’s proposals but issued a statement saying the redundancies are “aimed at anticipated staffing as we restructure our business and programme requirements”.