River Media cuts salaries by up to 20%
January 18, 2010 in News by Stephen Hewitt
The River Media group has announced pay cuts for staff across all its newspapers from January 20. Cuts are between 10 and 20 per cent, depending on salary level.
Managing director Padraig O’Dwyer wrote in a memo that advertising revenues were down 20 to 30 per cent in many newspaper businesses and,
‘‘despite some indications that the worst of the crisis may be over and the economy may begin to stabilise in the second half of next year, we anticipate that trading conditions will continue to be very difficult in the first six months.”
‘‘No salaries will be reduced to less than minimum wage and these cuts, for the time being, will not apply to staff currently on short time,” he said.
O’Dwyer’s memo also announced restrictions on expenses.
This is the second round of pay cuts for River Media. Last January, the group announced a 10 per cent pay cut for all staff except the lowest paid. During 2009, it closed three titles: the Leitrim Post, the Monaghan Post and the Wicklow News.
River Media owns ten local newspapers throughout the country, and has interests in six local radio stations in the North and two in the Republic.
It is a partnership between media entrepreneurs O’Dwyer and Tim Collins, and the Belfast based Irish News.
Director Tim Collins said the company had driven hard bargains with its suppliers as part of its cost-cutting drive, with the pay cuts being part of the same survival strategy.
‘‘It’s not easy on our employees or ourselves,” he said. ‘‘It’s the best way of ensuring our employees’ jobs. We didn’t want a new round of redundancies.”
This article was taken from Anton McCabe of The Post
