Type
Merger/Acquisition
Country
France
Region
Location of affected unit(s)
Sector
Information / Communication
Publishing Of Information; Production And Programming Of Audiovisual
Publishing Activities
58.13 - Publishing of newspapers

350 jobs
Number of planned job losses
Job loss
Announcement Date
25 June 2015
Employment effect (start)
30 September 2015
Foreseen end date
31 December 2018

Description

The group La Dépêche du Midi (930 employees) has take over the media group Journaux du Midi (800 employees) in June 2015 and has announced a reorganisation that will lead to 350 job cuts. About 190 positions will be cut in the group Journaux du Midi (publisher of the regional newspaper Midi-Libre) and 160 in the group La Dépêche du Midi (publisher of the regional newspapers Sud-Ouest and La Dépêche du Midi). According to the vice-president of La Dépêche du Midi group and the new CEO of  Journaux du Midi the 190 job cuts were the result of the departure of 40 journalists within the framework of a specific dismissals scheme (when a newspaper is sold, the journalist may ask to leave it and receive compensation as if they were dismissed. They are also considered dismissed employees for the purpose of unemployment insurance so that they receive unemployment allowances) and natural departures until 2018. The CEO has excluded forced dismissal and social plan for the group Les Journaux du Midi. There are no details about how jobs will be cut by the group La Dépêche du Midi. The reorganisation aims to increase the productivity and competitiveness of the regional media group Journaux du Midi that is lower than those of the group La Dépêche du Midi.


Sources

  • 25 June 2015: CB News
  • 26 June 2015: Le Monde
  • 2 December 2015: Objectif Gard

Citation

Eurofound (2015), La Dépêche - Journaux du Midi, Merger/Acquisition in France, factsheet number 83899, European Restructuring Monitor. Dublin, https://restructuringeventsprod.azurewebsites.net/restructuring-events/detail/83899.