Switch TV, a station that was launched in September 2018, fired 35 of its employees in a cost-cutting measure on Friday.
Those fired included reporters, anchors, producers and other support staff who were all hired about nine months ago.
The station, which had over 100 employees, was looking to cut down to an estimated 50 workers, according to well-placed sources. This could see more employees face the sack in the coming weeks.
The Kenya Red Cross-owned media house had poached journalists from KTN and other media houses, before its official launch.
It is reported that the Managing Editor’s position was scrapped off after the station fired all its news editors, leaving the news anchors to carry out both tasks.
Remy Majala, a presenter that had been poached from K24 TV, resigned from the station in March, while Leah Ngari, a news anchor at the station, followed four months later. Reports indicated that the two left due to frustrations they faced in the company.
In 2016, Royal Media Services also fired some of its journalists, among them respectable names in the industry.
In a memo sent by the Managing Director, Wachira Waruru, the company had stated that it had fired some of the employees in line with its commitment to remain competitive and optimise human resource utilisation.
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