Mitigating the damage, or just a formality?
Was the mandated consultation period for layoffs at Newshub a genuine attempt to find solutions or simply a legal checkbox to tick?
Downsizing, restructuring, rightsizing – whatever the euphemism, company announcements of layoffs are gut-wrenching for employees. The closure of Newshub will unfortunately result in job losses for journalists, camera operators, producers, and other staff. This will have a significant impact on the livelihoods of these individuals and their families.
New Zealand law focuses on the process companies must follow when laying off staff. Employers must follow a structured “workplace change process” before making someone redundant. This includes proposing the changes, presenting them to employees, and considering their feedback in good faith.
“As we said, we would listen to all parties, internal and external. Our door has been open to discussions, and some conversations have taken place.” Said Glen Kyne, Warner Bros Discovery’s NZ boss to Newshub staff before confirming the decisions made several weeks prior.
The process of announcing layoffs and going through a period of consultation is more nuanced than just fulfilling legal obligations. While the legal requirements do play a role, there are often legitimate business reasons and considerations that companies take into account during this period. But the question has to be asked, “When companies announce their intention to lay off staff, is the period of consultation done in good faith or is this merely to fulfil legal obligations and the company is in fact just going through the motions?”
Labour laws and regulations require companies to provide advance notice of mass layoffs and engage in a consultation period with employees or their representatives (e.g. labour unions). This is to ensure transparency and allow for dialogue around alternatives or mitigation measures. The consultation period can serve several meaningful business purposes beyond just legal compliance. It allows companies to gather feedback and input from employees that could inform the final layoff plans; explore alternatives to layoffs, such as voluntary departures or reduced hours; communicate the rationale for the layoffs and provide clarity to the workforce; and develop fair and equitable criteria for selecting which roles/employees will be impacted.
Skipping the consultation process entirely or being seen as just going through the motions can damage trust and morale among remaining employees. Companies often want to avoid the perception of a rushed or uncaring approach. In some cases, the consultation period can lead to negotiated compromises between the company and employees/representatives. This could include things like enhanced severance packages or redeployment options.
While the legal requirements cannot be ignored, the consultation process often serves important business purposes beyond just compliance. However, the degree to which a company genuinely considers employee input often varies in practice. Unfortunately, there is no definitive data on the overall success rate of employees in changing companies' minds during layoff consultation processes.
Some companies may be more open to feedback and willing to compromise during consultations, while others take a more rigid stance. Larger-scale, business-critical layoffs leave less room for compromise compared to more limited workforce reductions, as appears to be the case at Newshub. Complete reversals of layoff decisions are extremely rare. Estimates suggest employee/union success rates in materially changing layoff plans are often in the range of 10-30%, based on case studies and anecdotal evidence.
There are some international examples of employees successfully influencing or changing layoff plans during the consultation process:
Siemens (2023) - In Germany, Siemens workers protested proposed job cuts at the company's mobility division. After negotiations, Siemens agreed to reduce the number of planned layoffs from 2,500 to 1,700.
Rolls-Royce (2020) - In the UK, Rolls-Royce workers faced 9,000 job cuts. After consultations, the company agreed to reduce the number of layoffs to 7,000 and enhance severance packages.
Bombardier (2019) - In Canada, Bombardier's plan to lay off 550 workers was reduced to 360 positions after union negotiations. The company also agreed to provide more support for displaced employees.
General Motors (2018) - During GM's restructuring in the US, the United Auto Workers union was able to limit the number of plant closures from 5 to 4 through the consultation process.
Nissan (2016) - In Spain, Nissan workers protested proposed layoffs of 1,100 employees. After discussions, the company reduced the job cuts to 600 positions.
These examples illustrate that in some cases, employee engagement and collective bargaining can lead to meaningful reductions in the scale of planned layoffs or improvements to severance terms. However, such successes are the exception, and Newshub is not one of them.
Unfortunately for Newshub they have been unable to adapt from internal structures built for a bygone era. Siloed departments, slow decision-making, and a reluctance to embrace the digital age created inertia, hampering their ability to pivot and respond to the rapid shifts in audience behaviour.
“The stark figure is that nearly $100M has left the advertising sector in New Zealand in the last 24 months and that trend is continuing into 2024,” Warner Bros. Discovery APAC president James Gibbons announced to staff.
The major setback for Newshub has been the drop in viewership and it, like other media outlets have failed to come to terms with viewer frustration at the failure of news media outlets to accurately reflect the views of everyday Kiwis.
The just released, annual AUT Trust in News survey shows, that in 2024, only 33 per cent of New Zealanders said they trusted the news in general. In 2020, that figure was 53 per cent. In five years, general trust in the news has fallen 20 percentage points. From March 2023 to March 2024, almost all the major New Zealand news brands suffered declines in their levels of trust.
These figures confirm the contention that the New Zealand media operates in an ideological echo chamber. The mainstream media in New Zealand, including Newshub, all too often promote a narrow range of perspectives and opinions that align with their own beliefs. This has led to a lack of diverse viewpoints and a failure to accurately represent the views of the wider population.
The line between factual reporting and opinion-based analysis has always been somewhat blurred in journalism, to varying degrees across different media outlets and reporting styles but the change is particularly evident on the two TV news channels where most New Zealanders used to go for the news. It appears that for Newshub and TVNZ, the chickens are finally come home to roost.
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The Shortsightedness of Restructuring
https://grahammedcalf.substack.com/p/the-shortsightedness-of-restructuring
Brave New Media World
A 2019 study by the Reuters Institute found that New Zealand journalists tended to have relatively homogeneous political views, with a majority identifying as left leaning. New Zealand's relatively small and geographically concentrated media landscape, with many journalists knowing each other personally, has reinforced this view. New Zealand journalists tend to rely heavily on a small pool of expert sources, often drawn from academia or government, which has led to a narrowing of viewpoints.
News reporters and associated staff must have had their heads in the sand. Tv3 in particular as they have been loosing money since inception.
Nz on air is also to blame, consistently giving these companies tax payer money, 81 mill in the last 5 years, prolonging the harsh dicisions.
Advertising down 100million, could it be that the costs were to high for ordinary local businesses to use them. TV advertising has always been perceived to be too expensive over radio and print.
The irony is that these same reporters whom covered many job losses in click bait reporting are now extensively covering there own stories