MediaCorp to lay off 33 staff members following restructure

MediaCorp has redeployed over 50 employees to what it has called growth areas and removed some existing vacancies, said news reports on ChannelNews Asia and Today, both publications owned by MediaCorp.In this reshuffle, 33 employees will be laid off and offered severance payments and outplacement support.Meanwhile, some 13 employees have been offered employment as part of outsourcing agreements with two of its business partners. Earlier in January this year, MediaCorp made the announcement to become more customer centric, moving away from traditional media lines towards a focus on specific consumer groups.According to MediaCorp’s online news site Today, the announcement was made through an internal memo to its staff members where Shaun Seow, the chief executive officer of MediaCorp said the company was “unable to redeploy them” and the outcome has left him with “a heavy heart”.The retrenched staff are said to represent just over 1% of the company’s employee base. Today also states that the company has also removed “some vacancies arising from natural attrition and outsourced areas such as magazine distribution and SAP IT to focus on core competencies.”In a statement to Marketing, Karen Yew, head, brand and communications, MediaCorp said that the move was needed in response to a radically evolved media environment.“MediaCorp has restructured its organisation to become more customer-centric, redesigned processes to become more efficient and invested in technology to remain relevant. To ensure optimal resource allocation, the company has reviewed every unit.”She added that the "retrenchments were not a decision that was taken lightly" and the company remains "fully committed to enabling its employees to build fulfilling careers.”“We believe that our recent actions will yield a leaner, more collaborative organisation that is better equipped to innovate and stay relevant,” said Yew. She however did not go into specifics of which departments were most heavily impacted.Meanwhile, Seow also urged the remaining staff members in MediaCorp to stay “agile”, and pledging to invest in new competencies like digital, he concluded that the company’s recent actions will yield a “leaner, more collaborative organisation that is better equipped to innovate and stay relevant”.Late last year, MediaCorp also appointed Jack Lim as chief commercial officer, reporting to Seow. In the newly created role, Lim oversaw all commercial relationships and fulfilment, including advertising sales, go-to-market partnerships and creative services.