Protests against cutbacks at TX Group in Zurich and Lausanne
Published: Tuesday, Oct 31st 2023, 15:10
Aktualisiert am: Mittwoch, 1. November 2023, 00:55
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Several hundred media professionals of the TX Group protested on Tuesday in Zurich and in Lausanne against the announced job cuts at Tamedia titles and at "20 Minuten" and "20 minutes". A total of 80 jobs are threatened.
Well over 100 TX Group employees protested in Zurich on Tuesday against job cuts. According to the journalists' association Impressum, there were around 250.
The protesters unfurled a banner in front of the TX Group headquarters reading "Solidarity with those affected - Stop downsizing". The group includes titles such as "Tages-Anzeiger", "20 Minuten" and "Berner Zeitung".
Die Belegschaft überreichte Tamedia-CEO Jessica Peppel-Schulz einen offenen Brief, der neben dem Sparstopp eine journalistische Vision und den Verzicht der Aktionäre auf eine Dividende fordert.
Several speakers spoke of ever new cost-cutting measures, some of which were not even known to the public. For example, jobs are often not filled again. Other media houses, too, would only save money. "Quality journalism in Switzerland is dying by the slice," they said.
Aktion auch in Lausanne
Auslöser für den Protest war nicht zuletzt die Tatsache, dass viele langjährige Mitarbeiter letzte Woche ihre Kündigung erhalten hatten, wie Keystone-SDA aus der Belegschaft erfahren konnte.
The action was organized by the staff and supported by the Syndicom trade union and the Imprint journalists' association. An action was also held in Lausanne at the same time.
According to the imprint, around 140 journalists and employees from "24 Heures," the "Tribune de Genève" and the editorial office T (joint editorial office of Tamedia's western Swiss titles) took part in this demonstration. They were joined by colleagues from the editorial team of "20 minutes," which includes lematin.ch and Sport-Center.
One of the protesting journalists from French-speaking Switzerland denounced a corporation that has "no other goal than profit at any price" and whose policies are leading to the "grounding of the press in French-speaking Switzerland."
TX Group had recently announced plans to cut 56 jobs in French-speaking Switzerland and around 30 in German-speaking Switzerland. Employees of "20 Minuten", "20 minutes" and the paid titles are affected. With the massive cutback of a total of 80 jobs, the TX Group has managed to arouse national solidarity, wrote Impressum.
Tamedia, which combines the pay newspapers, already saved around CHF 70 million between 2020 and 2022. Among other things, the editorial teams of the "Berner Zeitung" and "Bund" were merged at that time.
©Keystone/SDA