"Haaretz" set for more layoffs

Haaretz building
Haaretz building

Publisher Amos Schocken has offered employees voluntary early retirement.

Israel daily newspaper "Haaretz" is preparing for another round of layoffs before the end of 2014. Publisher Amos Schocken today sent a letter to all employees offering voluntary retirement before the latest round of layoffs begins.

Schocken wrote, "This is a step that we are taking out of significant economic necessity. Our aim is to ensure that the newspaper can support itself from its income. All of us know that the distant future in our sector is shrouded in mist but our aim is to ensure the short term and immediate future."

Schocken cites such reasons as, "the challenging economic environment, the economic slowdown hitting advertising, the erosion of the newspaper's part of the advertising pie, the hit taken by income due to the measures for which the newspaper petition the Supreme Court, and the complete halting of printing "Israel Today" at our print house."

"Haaretz" was referring to the Ministry of Interior decision to remove "Haaretz" from the list of the three most distributed daily newspapers in favor of the "Israel Post" freesheet, costing "Haaretz" tens of millions of shekels annually in advertising.

Haaretz will also move to new offices in 2015 and sell its current office building in south Tel Aviv.

Haaretz laid off 5% of its workforce at the end of 2013.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 23, 2014

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014

Haaretz building
Haaretz building
Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018