Journalists’ union slams GMA-7’s mass layoffs

Broadcasting giant GMA-7’s dismissal of its staff in regional stations despite being financially robust is callous, heartless, and appalling, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said in a statement on Monday. NUJP regarded the network’s claim of “strategic streamlining” to justify the layoffs as a “play on words” that “belies the grim reality that almost all employees in regional news desks of the network will lose their jobs.” On Friday, April 24, a representative from GMA-7 in Manila came to Bacolod to inform the regional office’s staff that their last day of work was also on that day. At least 20 employees were laid off. GMA-7 Cagayan de Oro, on the other hand, had its last local broadcast last Friday. Staff members said they will have a final meeting on Wednesday. There are at least 40 employees in GMA-7 Northern Mindanao.

Read more on GMA-7’s mass layoffs on Rappler.