SRG expected to cut 250 jobs
The SRG expects to cut 250 jobs, as it announced on Tuesday evening. As a result of the Federal Supreme Court’s ruling on value-added tax and due to the higher share of license fees allocated to regional broadcasters, the SRG must save 40 million francs annually starting in 2016.
unavoidable, writes SRG in a statement.
A working group with representatives from all language regions had worked out the details of the savings program. The Executive Board has now approved the catalog of measures after consulting the Board of Directors.
In German-speaking Switzerland, 102 full-time positions are likely to be affected at SRF and its subsidiary TPC combined, 74 at RTS in French-speaking Switzerland, 49 at RSI in Italian-speaking Switzerland, and 20 at General Management. The small business units - the Rhaeto-Romanic RTR and the SWI Swissinfo.ch foreign Internet platform - are contributing to the savings program with detailed operational measures; a
any job cuts are to be kept to a minimum.
Provisions for job cuts and additional costs due to value-added tax are likely to result in a considerable deficit in 2015. SRG aims to be back in the black in 2016.
Negotiations on social plan
SRG will consult employees, the Swiss Syndicate of Media Workers (SSM) as social partner and the Association of Management (VDK). The employees will have the opportunity to make proposals on how the job cuts could be avoided or reduced, or how the consequences could be mitigated. In parallel with this consultation, SRG is negotiating a fair social plan with its social partner SSM. It also wants to discuss the social plan with the management association.
The reasons for the job cuts
The reasons for the savings program are the value-added tax and the higher share of local and regional stations in the fee income:
- On April 13, 2015, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that fee payers would not have to pay value-added tax. In the future, the SRG will have to pay the value-added tax from its own funds. This was the conclusion reached by the federal government at the beginning of September following in-depth clarification. This will cost SRG CHF 35 million a year.
- The revised Radio and Television Act (RTVA) envisages that the share of local and regional broadcasters in fee income will rise from 4 percent today to up to 6 percent. The Uvek has announced that these private providers will quickly receive more money when the law comes into force in mid-2016; the exact amount is open. This will reduce SRG revenues by at least CHF 5 million annually.
