No end to the slimming cure yet
Publishers Tamedia is shrinking its overheads, streamlining its management and divesting shareholdings.
Publishers Tamedia is shrinking its overheads, streamlining its management and divesting shareholdings.
The Zurich-based media group Tamedia is restructuring and heralding a new round of savings. It will affect the "Central Services" division, where around 55 jobs will be cut. The aim is to save CHF 23 million compared to 2002. The structure will thus be adapted to the current capacity utilization, Tamedia announced. At the same time, the "medium-term expected earnings situation of the media industry and Tamedia's strategy" have been taken into account, which is to concentrate on newspapers, magazines and electronic media. Tamedia is divesting strategically unimportant holdings (see box). The Investments division, previously managed by CEO Martin Kall, will be dissolved. The minority stake in Berner Zeitung and Express Zeitung AG, through which Tamedia intends to acquire a stake in 20 Minuten, will be transferred to the Finance division. The film production company Condor will in future belong to the electronic media, Werd Verlag and Finanz und Wirtschaft (FuW) to the newspapers. The management of the newspaper division will be divided between Kall and the previous head Jürg Brauchli. Kall will take over the Tages-Anzeiger (TA) including the magazine as well as Werd Verlag and FuW.
The Magazines division now consists of central units for the reader and advertising market. The publishing managers are no longer needed. The readers' market will be managed by the previous head of Facts, Sari Simola, while Alexander Theobald will take over the advertising market. Caroline Thoma and Roland Wahrenberger, publishing directors of Annabelle and Schweizer Familie, are leaving Tamedia. Head of Human Resources
Peter Höhener is stepping down at the end of the year for personal reasons. In future, Group spokesperson Franziska Hügli will be responsible for personnel management.
The reorganization at Tamedia is not yet complete. The purchase of new newspaper printing presses will result in the loss of around 50 further jobs by the end of 2005. This year, the analyses on the future orientation of TA are to be completed. For the further development of the news magazine Facts, the dice will already be cast in the fall.
tamedia:What is still for sale Tamedia has already sold its stake in the publishing distributor BD Bücherdienst AG (72%) to the co-owner Stuttgarter Verlagskontor and Diogenes Verlag, which founded the company in 1985. Tamedia has concluded a multi-year contract with BD for the books of Werd Verlag. The liquidation of the Regor lettershop in Rorbas has not yet been completed. It is to be sold to an as yet unnamed interested party. A letter of intent has already been signed. At the
Waser Druck AG, the Zurich media company joins forces with Meier+Cie. Tamedia and the publisher of Schaffhauser Nachrichten bring their sheet-fed printing plants into the joint Meier Waser Druck AG in Feuerthalen. The Waser site in Buchs will be closed. The Competition Commission still has to approve this transaction.
(sm)
Stefano Monachesi
The Zurich-based media group Tamedia is restructuring and heralding a new round of savings. It will affect the "Central Services" division, where around 55 jobs will be cut. The aim is to save CHF 23 million compared to 2002. The structure will thus be adapted to the current capacity utilization, Tamedia announced. At the same time, the "medium-term expected earnings situation of the media industry and Tamedia's strategy" have been taken into account, which is to concentrate on newspapers, magazines and electronic media. Tamedia is divesting strategically unimportant holdings (see box). The Investments division, previously managed by CEO Martin Kall, will be dissolved. The minority stake in Berner Zeitung and Express Zeitung AG, through which Tamedia intends to acquire a stake in 20 Minuten, will be transferred to the Finance division. The film production company Condor will in future belong to the electronic media, Werd Verlag and Finanz und Wirtschaft (FuW) to the newspapers. The management of the newspaper division will be divided between Kall and the previous head Jürg Brauchli. Kall will take over the Tages-Anzeiger (TA) including the magazine as well as Werd Verlag and FuW.
The Magazines division now consists of central units for the reader and advertising market. The publishing managers are no longer needed. The readers' market will be managed by the previous head of Facts, Sari Simola, while Alexander Theobald will take over the advertising market. Caroline Thoma and Roland Wahrenberger, publishing directors of Annabelle and Schweizer Familie, are leaving Tamedia. Head of Human Resources
Peter Höhener is stepping down at the end of the year for personal reasons. In future, Group spokesperson Franziska Hügli will be responsible for personnel management.
The reorganization at Tamedia is not yet complete. The purchase of new newspaper printing presses will result in the loss of around 50 further jobs by the end of 2005. This year, the analyses on the future orientation of TA are to be completed. For the further development of the news magazine Facts, the dice will already be cast in the fall.
tamedia:What is still for sale Tamedia has already sold its stake in the publishing distributor BD Bücherdienst AG (72%) to the co-owner Stuttgarter Verlagskontor and Diogenes Verlag, which founded the company in 1985. Tamedia has concluded a multi-year contract with BD for the books of Werd Verlag. The liquidation of the Regor lettershop in Rorbas has not yet been completed. It is to be sold to an as yet unnamed interested party. A letter of intent has already been signed. At the
Waser Druck AG, the Zurich media company joins forces with Meier+Cie. Tamedia and the publisher of Schaffhauser Nachrichten bring their sheet-fed printing plants into the joint Meier Waser Druck AG in Feuerthalen. The Waser site in Buchs will be closed. The Competition Commission still has to approve this transaction.
(sm)
Stefano Monachesi
