nine-fairfax

Nine will cut 144 jobs as it completes its takeover of Fairfax Media. Fairfax’s last day of trading under its own brand was on Friday, and the new media business will be one from next Monday.

Nine CEO Hugh Marks emailed staff this morning announcing the job cuts and a new corporate structure, saying the roles were going due to “duplication” between the two companies. “By the end of the coming week, we will have completed most of the work needed in relation to ‘synergies’, including redundancies,” Marks said.

The cuts will include vacant roles that won’t be filled, and Marks said 92 people would be affected, to be redeployed if possible.

Marks had previously pointed to “synergies” that would occur when the takeover happened, but he and Fairfax CEO Greg Hywood have said that the newsrooms of the two companies would not combine.

Under the new structure, Fairfax’s head of metro publishing Chris Janz will now also be head of Nine Digital and Events. The new company will be organised into divisions of: publishing, Australian Community Media, printing and Stuff, Stan, and television. Domain and Macquarie Media will remain separately listed companies with independent boards.

“The new corporate structure is designed to strengthen our offerings to audiences and clients, including maximising our combined ability to invest in quality Australian content and journalism,” Marks said.

The Federal Court approved the takeover last week, which was announced after media reforms got through parliament in September last year, loosening some restrictions on cross-media ownership.