|
MUMBAI: The churn at US broadcaster Discovery shows no signs
of slowing down. It was in February that CEO David Zaslav
had announced the first phase of restructuring where several
key executives were fired. Now in the second phase it has
laid off 200 positions.
This represents about three per cent of its global workforce
of 5,000 employees. The cuts will mainly affect the US. A
portion of the savings will go towards investment in programming.
Media reports indicate that the bad news is not over for employees.
The pink slips sent out were distributed in those parts of the
company in which management reviews have been completed. In
those departments, cuts represented about 20 per cent of staff.
Reviews are still ongoing in other parts of the company.
When those reviews are completed, some employees working there
will be asked to leave.
The people losing their jobs held posts ranging from senior
VP to assistant level. They worked in the company's US Networks
division, education division and in some administrative roles
including corporate communications.
Discovery spokesman David Leavy said, "This is the second
phase of a detailed reorganisation of Discovery and is designed
to build an aggressive organisation that is able to take advantage
of new opportunities across television and digital platforms."
"The savings accrued from today's actions are not intended
to drop to the bottom line. We will be investing back in original
programming, the marketing of our brands and digital-media
extensions."
Discovery is also exploring whether it should get out of
storefront retailing. The company, which has 100 Discovery
stores around the country, pays high rent for premium mall
space and is studying whether it could sell its branded products
more efficiently with a combination of online sales and partnerships
with established retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Target. Discovery
is also looking to boost its digital media operations.
Also Read
Discovery
US, Intl undergoes corporate retructuring
|
