SRG does not want to change its programming despite cost-cutting measures

SRG Director General Gilles Marchand and SRF CEO Ruedi Matter spoke about the future of SRG in various interviews and information events for employees on Monday. The conclusion: above all, it became clear where savings should not be made.

The range of programs should be spared. If the red pen were to be applied there, it would be problematic, said Marchand in the "Tagesgespräch" interview on Schweizer Radio SRF. "On the other hand, we have some leeway in terms of infrastructure, administrative and IT costs and production processes."

Marchand made it clear that a reduction was unavoidable, but that it had to be "objective". The CEO had already stated on Sunday that the job cuts would be discussed with the social partners and communicated in due course - probably in the summer.

Criticism from SRG union

However, one of these social partners, the Swiss Syndicate of Media Professionals (SSM), expressed its surprise on Monday at the SRG management's advance. In a flash message to SRG employees, the organization wrote: "We are surprised to note that the efficiency improvement and reinvestment plan was already very far advanced on the day of the vote."

According to the union, employees should now be able to get involved in a "sounding board" - a type of working group - set up by SRG. The SSM is "extremely critical" of this plan, according to the letter, which is available to the SDA news agency

"We suspect that this is intended to legitimize a mass dismissal," said SSM Central Secretary Jérôme Hayoz. The working groups should not be seen as a substitute for the statutory consultation procedure.

Closure of transmitters not an issue

The union is demanding that SRG inform them "fully and in detail about the plans for the coming weeks and months".
informed". SDA's questions to SRG's media office about precisely this timetable remained unanswered on Monday.

SRF Director Ruedi Matter did not want to explain the outlined staff cuts in detail on Monday. He only told the online portal SRF News: "You can only achieve savings of this magnitude by reducing jobs." The aim is to make the production of the program more efficient.

The closure of entire channels is not an issue. It is true that individual program offerings may have to be reduced. "There are no plans for large-scale cuts."

Will Matter resign soon?

However, the announced relocation of the radio studio in Zurich to the Leutschenbach television studio will now become an issue somewhat sooner than originally planned. In addition, not all employees will have a permanent workplace in future.

Matter commented further on his possible retirement in a video on SRF's Facebook channel. "As a rule, SRG employees retire at 65," he said, who will reach this age next October.

He will discuss this with the Board of Directors and Marchand in the coming weeks. One thing is clear to him: "There needs to be a transitional period until someone else is in place. The Board of Directors will decide." (SDA)