Australian Radio Network announces round of sweeping redundancies with up to 100 jobs at risk
The Australian Radio Network (ARN) has begun another round of sweeping redundancies that will see some entire departments moved offshore.
Staff at ARN have been told between 70 and 100 jobs are at risk on Wednesday.
The slash-and-burn cuts will not impact the radio network's front of house employees, meaning regional producers, on-air presenters, and journalists are safe.
Meanwhile, the finance, sales support, and technology services departments will be among those moved offshore and outsourced to balance the books.
Staff were called into a meeting and told of the impending job cuts.
ARN Chief Executive Ciaran Davis called the decision 'difficult' but 'necessary'.
'ARN's transformation program continues as we reshape our business to invest more deeply in the areas driving our future growth,' Mr Davis said in a statement.
Those are 'content creation, cross-platform distribution, and advanced commercial solutions'.
'As part of this, we are changing the composition of our team to become leaner and more efficient, which will involve the relocation of some roles and unfortunately, a reduction in headcount,' he continued.
'This is a difficult decision and has not been taken lightly. We are deeply grateful for the contributions of those impacted and are committed to supporting them through this transition with care, respect, and practical assistance.'
This latest wave of job cuts follows several months of downsizing at the largest metropolitan radio network in the country.
Content Chief Duncan Campbell was shuffled into a consultancy role in 2024 and since then, Chief Commercial Officer Peter Whitehead and several staff across sales and marketing have also gone.
Earlier this month, additional redundancies in ARN's sales division were announced.
It comes after Mitch Churi broke down live on-air in November, when he confirmed to listeners he had been sacked from the network.
The KIIS FM radio star, who co-hosted The Pick Up drive time show alongside Laura Byrne and Brittany Hockley, became emotional as he revealed the heartbreaking news to his co-stars.
'Late last week, I was informed by the powers that they have identified my role here as one that won't be returning in 2025,' Mitch began.
He then revealed he was blindsided by the decision, and he wished it had not come to this.
'I just want to say it wasn't my decision or my call. I really wanted to stay on the show with you two. I really wanted to stay with KIIS.'
The rolling redundancies come at a time of rising financial pressures for the parent company of KIIS FM, Pure Gold, iHeart Radio, and The Edge, which reaches over 6million Australians weekly.
ARN is grappling with a soft advertising market after a failed attempt to acquire rival Southern Cross Austereo (SCA).
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