Merger between Belgian media giants costs 205 jobs

The new media enterprise Mediahuis – a joint venture between Corelio and Concentra newspaper publishers – will cut 205 jobs, about 20% of the joint workforce, the company announced yesterday. At the same time, the entire editorial department of Het Nieuwsblad will move from the Corelio headquarters in Groot-Bijgaarden,  just outside of Brussels, to Antwerp. Sixty-seven journalists will be let go.

“This plan is necessary to keep each title strong and viable,” said CEO Gert Ysebaert, announcing the decision to staff. The creation of Mediahuis brings together Corelio’s De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad for a 62% stake in the new venture, and Gazet van Antwerpen and Het Belang van Limburg from Concentra for the rest.

Ysebaert stressed that each of the titles would continue to have its own specific character and voice – one of the conditions imposed by the Competition Council before allowing the venture to go ahead. However, the papers will also work together as much as possible, he said.

The move of Het Nieuwsblad to Antwerp will bring it closer to Gazet van Antwerpen to permit more synergy. De Standaard will remain in Groot-Bijgaarden to maintain close ties with Brussels. And Belang van Limburg will remain in Hasselt to ensure the continuation of its regional coverage – another condition imposed by the Competition Council.

The immediate effects of the synergies will be the loss of 205 full-time jobs, 67 of them from editorial on the four titles. Jobs will also go in IT, finance and human resources. Although not yet confirmed, the number of freelance journalists and photographers who help provide the papers’ regional coverage is also likely to be cut.

Unions within the two companies said the plan was “a severe blow” and held open the possibility of industrial action should talks with management on the mechanisms for redundancies not prove satisfactory. Pol Deltour, secretary-general of the Flemish Federation of Journalists (VVJ), said that the number of redundancies was “hallucinatory. Every redundancy of a journalist is one too many. But the damage will likely turn out to be worse than they are saying.”

Flemish media minister Ingrid Lieten said she was “shocked” at the announcement. “This is no small matter for 205 breadwinners,” she said. She also reminded members that Mediahuis was obliged to keep all four titles going for a minimum of five years. “However, I share the concerns over the way that promise is to be put into practice. I also have concerns about the independence of editorial departments and the importance of diversity in the media landscape.”