ITV is set to lay off dozens of staff as it ramps up cost-cutting measures worth £50M (£63M) per year.
Deadline understands the number of layoffs at the Mr Bates vs the Post Office network could reach around 200, approximately the same as rival Channel 4‘s recent redundancy program, representing around 5% of ITVs staff base. Some divisions including news will be protected from the layoff program.
ITV has kicked off a 45-day redundancy consultation process, coming a few weeks after it announced a “strategic restructuring and efficiency program” targeting £50M savings per year, with that figure set to reach around £30M this year, we understand. The number made redundant is not set in stone but is dependent on the amount who choose to take voluntary redundancy and will follow analysis during the consultation.
CEO Carolyn McCall sent an all-staff memo about the layoffs this morning and programs boss Kevin Lygo has since revealed a restructure of the Media & Entertainment division. “The scale and range of the challenges every organisation in our industry faces are growing, and that’s why we must act decisively to continue to keep pace and be adaptable to the market conditions,” wrote McCall.
A fortnight ago, ITV posted Q1 revenues down 7% as its studios division, which makes the likes of Love Island and The Voice, felt the impact of last year’s Hollywood labor strikes. The commercial broadcaster’s total revenue was £887M, compared with £952M over the same period in 2023, although the ad market improved slightly. This came a few weeks after ITV revealed a full-year 2023 profits tumble of 32% to £489M.
Along with Channel 4, a number of British producers and VFX firms have also been feeling the dual strikes-recession pinch, and market contraction has set in as viewing continues to migrate to digital.
UK TV trade Broadcast was first with news of the layoffs.