Swiss public broadcaster to shed fewer jobs than expected

The Zurich studios and headquarters of German-language public television, which radio journalists will also move into. swissinfo.ch

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) will shed fewer jobs than initially stated as it embarks on a four-year CHF100 million ($100 million) cost-cutting programme. Some 200 jobs are slated to go instead of the 250 announced in June.

The new figure was announced following a period of consultation with unions and employees. The SBC, swissinfo.ch’s parent company, said on Tuesday that it hoped most cuts would be covered by positions not being re-filled when staff leave. But it could not rule out some redundancies.

A large chunk of the CHF100 million savings will be made through a reorganisation of the corporation’s infrastructure and real estate. One controversial decision already taken is to move most of its radio information services from Bern to Zurich. This planned move has been criticised by politicians as it would take services and staff away from the Swiss capital.

These savings, announced in the summer, aim to offset both the Swiss government’s decision to reduce and cap SBC’s share of the licence fee for public broadcasting in Switzerland, and a decline in advertising revenue. The decision followed months after a rejection by voters of a public initiative that sought to scrap the licence fee.

swissinfo.ch has already defined how it will save CHF1 million – its assigned share of the cuts – by choosing not to fill two vacant positions and by reducing costs associated with external consulting, production services, and administrative and advertising expenses.