Fresh details have leaked about the wave of ongoing job losses at Channel Seven, including revelations a cameraman was notified of their redundancy in the middle of a shooting assignment.
Seven West Media is in the process of slashing headcounts at bureaus nationwide by 150 people following a drastic industry-wide downturn in free-to-air TV audiences and advertising revenue.
According to a bombshell report by the Courier Mail, the latest round of redundancies at Seven particularly impacted staff at the Brisbane bureau.
Longtime Queensland weather reporter Paul Burt, who became a fan favourite during his 11-year stint broadcasting for both the Gold Coast and Brisbane stations, lost his job in the cuts.
Meanwhile, veteran Seven Brisbane operations manager Craig Dyer revealed his sudden resignation on Monday.
An insider told the Courier Mail the Brisbane redundancies were “brutal” and “cold” and have destroyed staff morale at Seven’s Mount Coot-Tha studios.
Among those shown the door were two cameramen, a long serving technical employee, a news producer as well as other behind-the-scenes-staff.
One of the impacted cameramen was on a shooting assignment when he was suddenly notified of their redundancy last Wednesday.
In the middle of the shoot, the cameraman was ordered to head back to the station, where the staffer was informed he was being “let go”.
While Seven continues to purge jobs in both the news and board rooms, the struggling broadcaster’s top talent have so far emerged unscathed by the latest cuts.
Top on-air talent including Sonia Kruger and Dr Chris Brown (who Seven wooed away from rival Channel 10) are both believed to take home over $1 million annually.
The update comes as rival broadcaster Nine Entertainment is also embarking on a wave of mass redundancies that will eliminate five per cent of the company’s workforce.
Nine’s chief executive Mike Sneesby announced the job cuts to staff last Friday as part of a $30 million cost-cutting plan for the business, mostly from its metro newspapers and the Nine TV network.
“From our nationwide team of almost 5000 people, around 200 jobs are expected to be affected across Nine including some vacant and casual roles not being filled,” Mr Sneesby said in a statement.