U.K.’s Channel 4 Eyeing up to 200 Layoffs Amid Ad Malaise

Channel 4 headquarters

Courtesy of Channel 4

U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 is finalizing plans to cut as many as 200 employees, or around 17 percent of its workforce, amid advertising headwinds.

Up to 200 of its estimated more than 1,200 staffers could be hit as the broadcaster looks to limit content cutbacks and focus more on its streaming strategy, the Guardian reported. It said that management has been working on what would be Channel 4’s biggest round of layoffs in more than 15 years in terms of overall people affected. During the financial crisis of 2008, it had to lay off 200 people, which at the time was almost a quarter of its staff.

The news comes amid continued advertising market challenges for U.K. TV companies. In November, Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon told a parliamentary committee that the state of the ad market was in “shock territory,” predicting that the broadcaster would record losses in the next two years after three years of profits. Similarly, ITV remains “mindful of the macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty,” ITV CEO Carolyn McCall similarly said around that time.

“What we are doing now is accelerating our existing plans to weather the sharp and protracted advertising slowdown that has hit the whole industry,” Mahon said in a staff memo on Monday that was cited by the Guardian.

“Like every organization, we are having to deal with an extremely uncertain economy in the short term and the need to accelerate our transformation to become a wholly digital public service broadcaster in the long term,” a Channel 4 representative said in a statement on Monday. “As a result, we need to continue to divest from our linear channels business and simplify our operations to become a leaner organization.”

While details are still being worked out, the broadcaster plans to “share further details with our staff, partners and stakeholders soon,” the rep added. “Whilst organizational change is never without personal impact, it is a necessary response to allow us to stand out and succeed in a world of global entertainment conglomerates and social media giants.”