From a usually reliable source:
While waiting for the layoff news, apparently determined after meetings earlier this week, how are staffers holding it together? Until next week, there may be no clear indication of who gets sacked.
“They’re just wandering the halls in a daze, wondering if they’ll still have jobs tomorrow,” says one veteran Susquehanna insider.
According to one person with first-hand knowledge of the situation, managers have been asked to recommend deep staff cuts to their new Cumulus bosses. To create the pink-slip list, meetings have been held in Atlanta.
Right into an already-shrinking industry, local supervisors may very well be kissing their own positions goodbye.
Here’s the irony: were Susquehanna’s stations known for being burdened with bloated staff and management headcounts? Generally, the company ran one of the leanest operations in radio, with perhaps a few exceptions.
And substantial belt-tightening had already occurred in advance of the sale’s closing date, apparently set for May 5. Not wanting to risk the post-merger environment, a number of salespeople are also said to have departed.
After previous rounds of layoffs and staff attrition over the last year, current employees have already become accustomed to multitasking. Some are serving dual roles as producers, news editors, anchors, production staffers, music directors and assistant programmers.
By new corporate bosses charged with making an expensive deal work, however, they’re being told that far deeper cuts must immediately be made.
Without fat to trim, what part of the bone must frustrated managers suggest be cut? That’s where it becomes downright unrealistic: can a company really expect to make money without live and local air personalities, even in major markets?
And is it really wise to impose corporate edicts that force syndicated programming onto talk stations? Will these programs be ready for primetime, or are they simply cheaper than local hosts?
Never mind that the local guys have significant area name recognition, which won’t be the case for new piped-in programs.
Are promotions people, in-house engineers and IT professionals really expendable? So far, the answer is yes, I’m told: some have already been let go.
One person told me it was still completely unclear how someone would send them an email or who they might call in case of an equipment meltdown. Will this be resolved in less than a month?
As of this moment, no indication has yet been given, because layoffs are apparently the first order of business. When a major-market station already has less than a dozen full-time positions, can it really afford to cut four or five of them?
While waiting for the layoff news, apparently determined after meetings earlier this week, how are staffers holding it together? Until next week, there may be no clear indication of who gets sacked.
“They’re just wandering the halls in a daze, wondering if they’ll still have jobs tomorrow,” says one veteran Susquehanna insider.
According to one person with first-hand knowledge of the situation, managers have been asked to recommend deep staff cuts to their new Cumulus bosses. To create the pink-slip list, meetings have been held in Atlanta.
Right into an already-shrinking industry, local supervisors may very well be kissing their own positions goodbye.
Here’s the irony: were Susquehanna’s stations known for being burdened with bloated staff and management headcounts? Generally, the company ran one of the leanest operations in radio, with perhaps a few exceptions.
And substantial belt-tightening had already occurred in advance of the sale’s closing date, apparently set for May 5. Not wanting to risk the post-merger environment, a number of salespeople are also said to have departed.
After previous rounds of layoffs and staff attrition over the last year, current employees have already become accustomed to multitasking. Some are serving dual roles as producers, news editors, anchors, production staffers, music directors and assistant programmers.
By new corporate bosses charged with making an expensive deal work, however, they’re being told that far deeper cuts must immediately be made.
Without fat to trim, what part of the bone must frustrated managers suggest be cut? That’s where it becomes downright unrealistic: can a company really expect to make money without live and local air personalities, even in major markets?
And is it really wise to impose corporate edicts that force syndicated programming onto talk stations? Will these programs be ready for primetime, or are they simply cheaper than local hosts?
Never mind that the local guys have significant area name recognition, which won’t be the case for new piped-in programs.
Are promotions people, in-house engineers and IT professionals really expendable? So far, the answer is yes, I’m told: some have already been let go.
One person told me it was still completely unclear how someone would send them an email or who they might call in case of an equipment meltdown. Will this be resolved in less than a month?
As of this moment, no indication has yet been given, because layoffs are apparently the first order of business. When a major-market station already has less than a dozen full-time positions, can it really afford to cut four or five of them?
