Downsizing woes: Layoffs dampen Indian media industry’s growth story

The year 2024 started off with a spate of layoffs in the media industry globally – Los Angeles Times, Time magazine, Business Insider, Condé Nast, Forbes, The New York Daily News, and many others. The scenario is no different in India. As recent as last week, it has been reported that one of India’s leading media groups with interest in TV, print and digital has laid off as many as 200 of its employees.

According to Statista, globally Spotify topped the list of largest media industry layoffs, letting go off 1,500 employees as of December 2023. Netflix, Buzzfeed were also part of this list. From India, Statista mentioned Times Internet, which laid off 100 employees by August 2023.

While there are no definitive numbers available, according to various industry sources, between 400 and 600 media personnel have been laid off so far in 2024 across print, television and digital news media.

Industry experts point out to the headwinds faced by the media industry across the world, as ad revenues face a squeeze, resulting in media organisations going for, what they call, ‘cost rationalisation’. Mergers, acquisitions and consolidations have also resulted in companies going in for leaner teams.

The failed merger between ZEE and Sony also sent ripples down the market, with all the plans shelved as both media houses go in for restructure.

The merger between Viacom18 and Star India, which recently got the CCI approval, is also expected to disrupt the media market in a significant way.

When asked about the current market dynamics impacting media jobs, experts pointed out that the media industry is in a state of flux as it steers through digital and tech transformation, policy changes and maintaining a profitable operation.

Over the months, publications have been shutting down quite a few of their small town and regional operations, which has resulted in massive layoffs.

Financial considerations are also a reason for the layoffs. As per the FICCI EY 2024 M&E report, Print advertising grew a mere 4%, while circulation grew 3% in 2023. As per TAM AdEx report, compared to Jan-Mar’23, ad space per publication observed growth of 10% in Jan-Mar’24.

HT Media reported a 19% decline in its revenue for Q1 FY2025 at Rs 427 crore, from Rs 527 crore in Q4 FY2024. Jagran Prakashan’s Q2 FY2025 standalone revenue stood at Rs 390.59 crore, a marginal decline from Rs 391.65 crore in Q2 FY2024.

AI and media jobs

The impact of increasing adoption of Artificial Intelligence is beginning to be seen, especially in media jobs the world over. Sample this from an ad appearing in Journalism.co.uk – post on August 22, 2024, the ad states that Newsquest Media Group is seeking an AI-assisted reporter, who “will be at the forefront of a new era in journalism, utilising AI technology to create national, local, and hyper-local content for our news brands, while also applying their traditional journalism skills”.

Questions are being increasingly asked about whether journalism can survive AI. According to a report by US-based The Brookings Institution, “The dominance of less than a handful of privately-owned, Silicon Valley-based tech corporations over digital advertising, publishing, audience, data, cloud, and search decimated the business models of journalism worldwide. And now AI is doing it again.”

The report also stated that the United States lost a third of its newspapers and two-thirds of its newspaper journalists. They cannot be replaced with AI. On how journalism can make the most of AI, The Brookings Institution report remains optimistic, stating, “Journalism is particularly valuable to generative AI search, where it provides real-time information, context, fact-checking, and human language. This is where journalism, including local journalism, could be particularly valuable and thus must be able to monetize.”

Brutal goodbyes

The post-Covid landscape has seen organisations lay stress on empathy, creative a conducive workplace to empower employees and push for inclusivity and sustainability.

Alas, this doesn’t translate to the manner in which most of the employees are laid off – which is often without any forewarning and with just one-month’s salary as severance pay. Several of the former employees who had been laid off have said that a lot of times there isn’t even any formal letter or email, just a phone call or being informed verbally. And even if there is a mail, it is sent ahead of the weekend and often the senior bosses are not reachable to listen to those who are laid off.

Industry experts state that while layoffs are part of an organisation’s restructuring process, Indian media houses can be more empathetic and make the process less painful.

It is a rough ride ahead as well, as the economy remains under pressure.