Staff go on strike after Fairfax Media axes 125 newsroom staff

Budget coverage from Fairfax Media in jeopardy after announcement that 25 per cent of news staff to be axed.

Greg Hywood during Fairfax media's AGM at the Crown Promenade in Melbourne. Aaron Francis/The Australian

Fairfax journalists walked off the job today after management axed 125 newsroom jobs.

Budget coverage by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review is now in jeopardy after journalists voted to strike for seven days.

Journalists from the Canberra bureau were photographed walking out of Parliament House, taking their belongs with them.

SMH and Age staff walk out of Parliament House press gallery after voting to go on strike for 7 days. pic.twitter.com/777KkuTZkS

— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) May 3, 2017

Another Fairfax journalist who was in court covering the Anthony Bell v Kelly Landry case suddenly left the courtroom when she heard of the industrial action.

Fairfax journo at Bell/Landry case whispers to person sitting next to her "we are on strike", then stands and excuses herself from the court

— Tom Steinfort (@tomsteinfort) May 3, 2017

Earlier in the day, Fairfax Media told staff it would take the axe to newsroom managers and print section writers as it cuts 125 staff from its newsrooms.

The media company chose World Press Freedom Day to announce it will cut about 25 per cent of its journalists in newsrooms across its print titles The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review and websites Brisbane Times and WAToday.

The voluntary redundancy round is part of a $30 million cost reduction management announced by Chris Janz, recently appointed managing director of Australian Metro Publishing, to safeguard the future of the print titles. Last month Janz said the “tough decisions” would reshape “the legacy model of traditional media into a more streamlined” organisation.

Fairfax Editorial Director, Australia Metro Media, Sean Aylmer told staff today the company will also cap rates for contributors, cut third party deals such as syndications arrangements and reduce its casual workforce.

A consultation period finished on the weekend and the ten staff who have already left and will be included in the total. The voluntary redundancy will open tomorrow.

Sean Aylmer.

“While we will be looking across all parts of the newsroom, at the end of the redundancy program we expect there will be significantly fewer editorial management, video, presentation and section writer roles,” Mr Aylmer said in a note to staff.

Contributors will be paid per article, not per word, while cuts to casual workers will save $3m a year.

The Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance said it was appalled at the decision and savage cuts would weaken Fairfax’s business model. “None of the other parts of the Fairfax business are worth anything without the journalism and yet it is the journalism that Fairfax always cuts,” said MEAA chief Paul Murphy.

“This will only undermine and damage its mastheads further, alienating its audience and leaving the editorial staff remain have to work harder and harder to fill the gaps. This is a dumb decision,” Mr Murphy said.

Fairfax journalists are being briefed on the proposed job cuts and restructuring changes today.

The restructuring comes less than two months after Fairfax confirmed it was pursuing plans to spin out its Domain real estate business, with a possible float on the Australian Securities Exchange by the end of 2017. Fairfax said at the time it would retain a 60 to 70 per cent stake in Domain.

And today Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood suggested redundancies would also hit its New Zealand operations after the regulator there blocked its proposed merger with NZME.

“In light of the NZCC decision, an even greater focus on cost efficiency will be necessary,” Mr Hywood said.

“Further publishing frequency changes and consolidation of titles is an inevitability. This decision does nothing to address the challenge of the global search and social giants, which produce no local journalism, employ very few New Zealanders, and pay minimal, if any, local taxes.

The deal to bring the two companies together would have seen NZME pay NZ$55 million for Fairfax’s New Zealand operations. It would also have issued new shares to allow Fairfax to hold a 41 per cent share in the new listed entity.