Tamedia cuts 34 jobs: reorganization ahead

Context

TL;DR

• Tamedia plans to cut 34 full-time positions
• 41 employees are affected across German- and French-speaking Switzerland
• 30 positions concern journalism, 4 the Print-Desk
• Personal notification by the end of October

Key facts

• Company → Tamedia
• Positions eliminated → 34 full-time
• Employees affected → 41
• Locations → Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lausanne and Geneva
• Breakdown → 28 German-speaking Switzerland, 9 French-speaking Switzerland, 4 Print-Desk
• Areas → 30 journalism positions and 4 in the Print-Desk
• Notification → by the end of October
• Social plan → career development and early retirement

Tamedia plans to eliminate 34 full-time positions as part of a reorganization of its newsrooms. The plan affects 41 employees in its German-speaking and French-speaking Swiss operations.

Thirty positions concern the journalism sector, while another four are in the Print-Desk. The measures affect the newsrooms in Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lausanne and Geneva. Of the 41 employees affected, 28 work in German-speaking Switzerland and nine in French-speaking Switzerland; these are joined by four people from the Print-Desk.

The announced reorganization

Tamedia attributes the restructuring to the difficult situation in the media market. Readers' habits are changing, the advertising market is in steep decline and an increasing share of Swiss advertising funds is flowing to international online platforms.

The company intends to consolidate tasks within the newsrooms, reduce administrative work and simplify processes, increasingly relying on automation. In the project, artificial intelligence and data should play a central role. According to Tamedia, resources should be used above all for activities that offer the greatest benefit to paying readers.

Tamedia director Jessica Peppel-Schulz describes the reduction in jobs as a «difficult consequence» of the changed market conditions.

Peppel-Schulz argues that the organization must be structured in an economically sustainable way, so as to allow continued investment in journalism, brands and products in the future. The company adds that the reduction should take place in a socially responsible and respectful manner.

The affected employees will be informed personally by the end of October. In French-speaking Switzerland, a consultation procedure will take place first. Tamedia also indicates a social plan with career development opportunities and early retirement, as well as the search for internal solutions to redeploy staff wherever possible.

Operational details

What changes in editorial work

A more focused model

The most concrete part of the plan concerns the organization of work, not just the final number of positions. Tamedia announces a greater concentration of tasks in newsrooms, a reduction in administrative work, and simpler processes. For those working in information, the announced change therefore concerns how activities are distributed and coordinated within the company.

This outline shows a shift toward a more integrated structure. The Print-Desk is included in the cuts along with the journalism division: the reorganization therefore concerns not only newsroom work, but also a function connected to production. However, the announcement does not provide a list of duties associated with each position. For this reason, the role of automation should be understood as a general direction of the project, not as an automatic description of the fate of every individual position.

The reasons indicated by the company also explain the priority assigned to paying readers. If audience habits change and the advertising market contracts, Tamedia says it wants to concentrate resources on activities considered most useful to those who pay for the content. The text does not announce specific changes to subscriptions, products or individual titles; it does indicate, however, that journalism, brands and products remain areas in which the company intends to continue investing.

For the Swiss labor market, the practical scope of the news remains limited to the Tamedia structures identified in the announcement. No general measure for other companies or for all media professionals is presented. Those working in the same sector can nevertheless use the section devoted to aziende che assumono to compare possible alternatives, without attributing effects to the reorganization that the source does not indicate.

Recommended tools

For an updated estimate, use the net salary calculator and the CHF-EUR exchange comparator.

Key points

What to check now

The sequence for the personnel involved

For those in the affected units, Tamedia’s communication indicates several specific steps. The procedure can be read as follows:

1. Check whether your position falls within the newsrooms in Zurich, Bern, Basel, Lausanne or Geneva, or within the Print-Desk. These are the structures cited by the company.

2. Await the personal communication expected by the end of October. The stated deadline concerns employees involved in the reorganization.

3. If you work in French-speaking Switzerland, follow the consultation procedure required before the personal notification. The source does not indicate any other steps or deadlines.

4. Examine the social plan when it is presented, paying attention to the development opportunities and early retirements mentioned by Tamedia. These are the elements explicitly indicated by the company.

5. Check whether internal solutions are available. Tamedia states that it intends to seek redeployment within the organization where possible.

This sequence separates what has already been announced from what remains to be defined for individuals. The source sets the deadline for the notification and describes the planned measures, but does not provide individual details about positions, internal destinations or the conditions applicable to each employee.

For those not directly involved, the most concrete action is to monitor the market without turning a corporate reorganization into a general forecast. Anyone considering a change can supplement their search with calcolatore stipendio/imposte, in order to organize a comparison of their financial options. The central issue remains verifying real opportunities, not anticipating outcomes that have not been communicated.

To turn this review into an operational step, consult the annunci di lavoro.

Source: tio.ch