Senior Brisbane staff among first affected by Nine’s nationwide redundancies

Nine’s newsroom shake-up has hit Queensland, with a respected reporter among the first Brisbane staff to lose their jobs.

Nine News sports journalist Bronte Gildea.

• Qld’s history of TV shocks, scandals

The first Brisbane casualties of Nine’s sweeping company-wide redundancies have been revealed, with senior on-air and behind-the-scenes staff among those told their jobs have been cut.

Senior Nine News Queensland sports reporter Jonathan Uptin is understood to be among those departing, with his contract not renewed as part of the network’s latest cost-cutting measures.

Jonathan Uptin from 9 News Brisbane. Picture: Instagram.

Uptin, a familiar face to Queensland audiences, has worked across several news markets during his career.

He is believed to be replaced on the sports desk by Bronte Gildea, who has been filling in on recent bulletins and is also the partner of Brisbane Broncos star Patrick Carrigan.

Nine News sports journalist Bronte Gildea.

Sources told The Courier-Mail the changes were part of a national restructure that had left the Brisbane newsroom rattled, with staff given little warning before the first redundancies were made.

Nine News Queensland supervising producer of presentation and promotion Leon Cull is also understood to be one of those impacted by the recent job cuts, with sources telling The Courier-Mail he was informed of the decision at the weekend and advised not to return to work on Monday.

Nine has denied this claim.

Nine News Queensland supervising producer of presentation and promotion Leon Cull was reportedly informed of his redundancy at the weekend and instructed not to return to work on Monday.

Operations co-ordinator Jessica Llewelyn was also understood to be one of those affected, while at least one other Brisbane-based employee — believed to be in a support role — was awaiting confirmation of their position’s future.

Supervising Producer of Presentation and Promotion at Nine News Queensland Leon Cull.

Jessica Llewelyn (centre) with Peter Overton and Melissa Downes.

It is understood management asked staff to “put their hands up” for voluntary redundancies before moving to further forced cuts if required.

Sources inside the newsroom say staff are on edge, fearing more cuts could be on the horizon, but Nine has hit back, saying talk of further redundancies is unfounded.

Nine is proposing changes which could impact up to 50 roles nationally.

Newly appointed broadcast and streaming boss Amanda Laing told staff in an internal email that the review was aimed at reducing duplication, driving greater collaboration and delivering commercial growth for the Nine Group.

Foxtel chief commercial and content officer Amanda Laing. Picture: Supplied

The restructure follows the merger of Nine’s free-to-air television and Stan operations earlier this year, which created overlapping roles and coincided with a softening advertising market.

A Nine spokeswoman said the company had begun consulting with team members impacted by the new operating model, adding that its focus was on supporting affected staff through wellbeing services and redeployment opportunities within the wider Nine Group.

Nine declined to comment when asked how many Brisbane roles had been affected.