Imprint/Comedia: Another unnecessary layoff at Tamedia
With its acquisition of the Zürcher Landzeitungen, Tamedia is once again laying off up to 50 journalists. Comedia and Impressum are calling for a return to genuine social partnership in order to tackle common challenges together.
This is because the diversity and quality of the media will continue to be restricted without economic pressure: The Tamedia Group continues to generate substantial profits and has ample reserves. Comedia and Impressum state this in a press release and call for a return to genuine social partnership. Although a social plan has been agreed upon, it will not entirely prevent cases of hardship.
Following the 2006 declaration of war—dubbed «Regional Splits»—against the long-established Zurich regional newspapers *Zürichsee-Zeitung*, *Zürcher Unterländer*, and *Zürcher Oberländer*, these publications were acquired by Tamedia. Tamedia is now integrating the “split” editorial teams into the editorial departments of the regional newspapers. At the same time, the two unions say, the company is once again planning to streamline operations, which will result in drastic job cuts across all editorial departments. Long-time media professionals at the regional newspapers face termination, as do the “Split” editors who worked with great dedication to build up the regional editorial departments of the *Tages-Anzeiger*, and, not least, the journalists who were poached from the regional newspapers when the “Splits” were founded. The editorial offices are still being kept in the dark about the exact number of layoffs.
The press release went on to state that those affected will receive a comparatively favorable severance package. However, the journalists’ association Impressum and the media union Comedia were excluded from the negotiations. By excluding them, Switzerland’s largest print media company is violating its employees’ constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association and demonstrating its indifference toward social partnership, Impressum and Comedia added in the statement, calling on Tamedia to improve its social partnership relations in order to jointly and constructively address the upcoming challenges facing the Swiss media landscape in the future.
At its mid-year media conference in early September, Tamedia reported a profit increase of over 400 percent to 48.8 million Swiss francs.
Following the 2006 declaration of war—dubbed «Regional Splits»—against the long-established Zurich regional newspapers *Zürichsee-Zeitung*, *Zürcher Unterländer*, and *Zürcher Oberländer*, these publications were acquired by Tamedia. Tamedia is now integrating the “split” editorial teams into the editorial departments of the regional newspapers. At the same time, the two unions say, the company is once again planning to streamline operations, which will result in drastic job cuts across all editorial departments. Long-time media professionals at the regional newspapers face termination, as do the “Split” editors who worked with great dedication to build up the regional editorial departments of the *Tages-Anzeiger*, and, not least, the journalists who were poached from the regional newspapers when the “Splits” were founded. The editorial offices are still being kept in the dark about the exact number of layoffs.
The press release went on to state that those affected will receive a comparatively favorable severance package. However, the journalists’ association Impressum and the media union Comedia were excluded from the negotiations. By excluding them, Switzerland’s largest print media company is violating its employees’ constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association and demonstrating its indifference toward social partnership, Impressum and Comedia added in the statement, calling on Tamedia to improve its social partnership relations in order to jointly and constructively address the upcoming challenges facing the Swiss media landscape in the future.
At its mid-year media conference in early September, Tamedia reported a profit increase of over 400 percent to 48.8 million Swiss francs.
