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Between January and September, companies in the media sector laid off more than 8,200 employees. That’s more than twice as many layoffs as the first nine months of last year. The cuts hit print and broadcast news, as well as entertainment.
John Challenger, CEO of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says the layoffs partly reflect the long-term trend of people changing their habits of consuming news. But he says there’s another factor in play.
“Thomson Reuters announced 3,000 job cuts, and they were cutting jobs not because of changes in the way we consume media but because the financial sector has been continuing to see declines, the heaviest sector cutting jobs this year, in fact, in the U.S. economy, and there’s just lower demand for the company’s financial terminals.”
Other media outlets announcing major layoffs include Gannett and Disney-owned ESPN. NPR is seeking to cut its network staff by 10% through voluntary buyouts.
Announced Media Sector Cuts
|
|
January-September |
Full Year |
|
2003 |
6,964 |
9,611 |
|
2004 |
9,993 |
11,471 |
|
2005 |
5,978 |
9,543 |
|
2006 |
10,085 |
17,809 |
|
2007 |
10,046 |
11,700 |
|
2008 |
19,735 |
28,803 |
|
2009 |
21,602 |
22,346 |
|
2010 |
4,325 |
4,889 |
|
2011 |
5,868 |
7,720 |
|
2012 |
4,087 |
5,614 |
|
2013 |
8,239 |
?? |
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas
