Zee lays off 15% of its staff to cut costs
Zee announced on Friday that it will layoff 15 per cent of its workforce across the company. This is a concerted effort by the firm to cut costs and financially secure the media firm, which faces an uncertain future after Sony terminated its merger plans with Zee.
Zee began the process of optimisation in March, when it set up a special committee to evaluate its existing verticals and identify and weed out expendable parts of its business. It was only a week ago that Zee laid off 50 per cent of its workforce in its tech centre in Bengaluru. Zee CEO and MD,
Punit Goenka also announced that he will be taking a 20 per cent pay cut. Goenka took home ₹35 crore in FY23, his salary increased by nearly 323 per cent in the last five years.
“In line with his overall strategic approach, the MD and CEO has initiated the process of rationalisation of the workforce by 15 per cent, that will prune the staff strength across the company to arrive at a streamlined team that is sharply focused on the set goals for the future,” Zee said on Friday.
ZEESONY MERGER
Goenka had proposed the plan for frugality, optimisation and sharp focus on quality in the investor call, after the dissolution of the merger was announced. Zee’s financials took a hit and share price dropped significantly after Sony terminated its merger agreement with the firm.
Zee had already let go of many executives in the top management. In March, Nitin Mittal resigned as President of Technology and Data at Zee. Earlier, Rahul Johri had quit as the President – Business, South
Asia of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd after a threeyear stint. Johri was responsible for leading the integrated revenue and monetisation team.
R. Gopalan, Chairman, ZEE, stated, “The board has noted the MD and CEO’s steps being taken to streamline the organisation and the proposed lean structure. While the Board is in the process of discussing the same, the proposed structure certainly is in line with the strategic guidance provided to the management. The board appreciates the steps taken by the management to enhance the overall performance of the Company, reaffirming our faith in the team’s ability to drive the company towards its set targets for the future.”