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The announced job cuts are becoming concrete: those affected will be laid off. This calls politics into the spotlight.
In November 2023, CH Media informed for the first time about the planned job cuts. Most recently there was talk of 140 full-time positions being cut at CH Media in German-speaking Switzerland. With almost two thousand employees, around 80 layoffs would have to be announced – all areas would be affected.
Now the time has come: these days, the affected employees are being laid off. Various sources speak of a sharp reduction in radio and online editorial departments.
Dismantling of “32 Today” shortly after its launch
The media company CH Media itself does not publish a detailed list of where and how many people are affected. What is clear, however, is that the editorial team for the online platform “32 Today” in Solothurn will be merged with that of “Bärn Today” in Bern. And that only around a year after the launch of the Solothurn platform.
The expansion of the Today platforms was sporty: in just five years, the media company launched six such platforms throughout German-speaking Switzerland.
You’re always smarter in hindsight.
The platforms got off to a good start, said Florian Wanner, Head of Regional Electronic Media, in an interview with the media portal “Personal”. However, the recent slump in the advertising market was not expected. You’re always smarter in hindsight, says Wanner.
Major reductions in radio stations
At “Radio Argovia” and “Argovia Today” around half of the employees will be laid off, internal sources report. At “Radio 32” and “32 Today” there are more: seven out of twelve people have received notice of termination. Two others from the team were offered other positions within the company.
Legend:
In the future, the news for CH Media’s radio stations will come from a central editorial office in Zurich or Lucerne. In the picture: Radio24 presenter Ralph Steiner in the studio in Zurich Oerlikon.
Keystone/Christian Beutler
In the future, there will only be one journalist per day in the editorial offices of the two private radio stations. The disappointment among the laid-off employees is great. They vent their frustration on online platforms.
For me, my world had fallen to rubble and ashes.
The words were spoken in the sterile meeting room, writes an employee on LinkedIn. “Unfortunately we have to give you notice.” For them, their world had fallen to rubble and ashes.
“I also heard these words last week,” commented another affected person. “It makes me angry and sad,” writes another employee who was fired.
CH Media cannot save the same amount in all locations. The television station “Tele M1” receives fees from the federal government and is obliged to fulfill a service mandate.
It is not known how many people in the editorial offices of the “Aargauer Zeitung” or the “Solothurner Zeitung” are affected. However, it has been clear since this week: the publication of the “Anzeiger Luzern” and the “Stadtanzeiger Olten” will be discontinued. As CH Media reports, there is a social plan for the three employees.
Politics intervenes
CH Media’s savings plans have already triggered a push in the canton of Solothurn. A centrist politician is worried about media diversity and ultimately also about democracy.
In its response, the government writes that it is also concerned about media diversity. However, there is still a good mix of different media today and the canton itself also actively communicates via various channels.
However, this answer came before it was known how badly the job cuts at CH Media would affect the canton of Solothurn.