ABC poised to cut more than 100 jobs in a bid to attract digital audiences

Management at the ABC is poised to announce between 100 and 150 job cuts on Thursday, ahead of a major restructure that will see the national broadcaster refocus on its digital platforms.

Staffers were notified of meetings with management throughout the afternoon on Wednesday, sources told Crikey. The meetings relate to the first of at least three major change proposals across the ABC’s news, content and technology divisions.

The broadcaster’s news division is predicted to be the first cab off the rank on Thursday, with news boss Justin Stevens expected to release finer details shortly after ABC managing director David Anderson announces the changes to staff on Thursday afternoon, sources say.

The announcement, first reported by Guardian Australia, is expected to be followed by change proposals at the ABC’s newly formed content division, and then across the broadcaster’s technology division, sources say. Technology is expected to see the deepest cuts as the ABC primes itself to mount a challenge in the face of its more digitally capable streaming competitors.

Some of the job cuts set to be announced affect roles that have been vacant for some time, and a large swath of those impacted are expected to be redeployed across the organisation, sources say.

The ABC declined to comment.

Rumours of the restructuring announcement sent the ABC’s major Sydney and Melbourne newsrooms into overdrive earlier this week. Several sources employed by the ABC speculated that Thursday’s announcement and any subsequent “blows” were part of a carefully stage-managed communications strategy that is likely to only further fuel resentment for management, following its failure to defend Q+A host Stan Grant in the face of media criticism.

Anderson softened the ground for impending job cuts in an email to staff on the afternoon of May 11, saying management expected “there will be some redundancies”. He said leadership had started speaking with those affected, as the broadcaster prepares to undertake its biggest organisational shakeup since 2017.

The restructure will see the ABC move away from traditional broadcasting technology in favour of a focus on digital platforms. As a result, the ABC will from July 1 dispense with its regional and local division, with regional bureaux to be folded into the broadcaster’s broader news division.

The changes will also see the creation of a new ABC content division, headed by chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor, in a bid to simplify the broadcaster’s commissioning model. That new division will see capital city local radio, “most of the national radio networks” of Radio National, ABC Classic, triple j, and digital audio broadcasting services all at home together under Oliver-Taylor, Anderson told staff in his May email.

Perhaps more revealing, sources say, was the release of the ABC’s five-year plan, published last Friday. In it, the ABC outlined plans to move resources away from AM radio band transmission and TV, to podcast and on-demand programs, delivered through its ABC iview, ABC Listen and ABC News platforms, in an effort to acquire a majority-digital audience by 2028.

“With an extended program of modernisation, we will have retired end-of-life equipment and introduced more efficient digital production technology. ABC production and operations will be more decentralised and environmentally sustainable,” the plan said.

“Our television multi-channels will be repositioned to align more closely to audience preferences. We will have reduced overlaps across and reduced our investment in AM band transmission.”

A spokesperson for the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which represents media workers, said the union was still in the dark about the exact number of jobs expected to be lost, which was a bad way to start a new relationship between the two organisations, following drawn-out negotiations during March over a new pay deal.

“There is a lot of anguish and anxiety among journalists at the ABC about potential redundancies, but very limited communication,” they said. “They haven’t been forthcoming, they’ve handled this very badly.”

Will the ABC be able to compete in the digital age? What should a new ABC look like? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.