PRESS RELEASE: SanomaWSOY: Sanoma News Expands Its Rationalisation Programme
07 Maggio 2009 - 12:15PM
Dow Jones News
Press Release 7/5/2009 12:45
Sanoma News is expanding the scope of its Bridging the Recession
rationalisation programme as part of the Sanoma Group's plan for
improving efficiency and reducing costs. Sanoma News seeks savings
totalling EUR 30 million, half of which is to come from staff costs.
The savings target includes both the earlier announced
rationalisation programme and the one now being announced.
"The programme launched in January will save us about EUR 15 million,
but unfortunately that is not enough. New actions are called for in
order to keep the foundation of the company sound, in order to be
able to invest resources in further development and in order to
continue securing the prerequisites of independent journalism," says
Mikael Pentikäinen, President of Sanoma News.
The target is to achieve, through the earlier announced and now
announced programmes, staff cost savings corresponding to a total of
about 300 man-years.
At the Sanoma News level, the company initiates, on financial and
production-related grounds, employer-employee negotiations on cutting
holiday bonuses for a certain period until the financial performance
of Sanoma News returns to a growth track. If this can be agreed upon,
it is equivalent to cutting some 100 man-years.
In addition to this, unit-specific employer-employee negotiations
will be initiated in order to seek structural savings in the loss
making businesses - Taloussanomat, the online financial daily, and
Sanoma Free Sheets. Parallel to them, employer-employee negotiations
will be initiated for financial and/or production-related reasons in
Helsingin Sanomat marketing operations, Sanomapaino and in some
support functions of the Sanoma News division.
Sanoma News Ltd.
Mikael Pentikäinen
President
Additional information: President Mikael Pentikäinen, Sanoma News,
tel. +358 9 122 2001
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