The Stuff newsroom in Ponsonby. Photo / Dean Purcell
The Stuff newsroom in Ponsonby. Photo / Dean Purcell
Stuff is facing potential legal action from some of its own staff following a new round of proposed changes which is set to lead to more job cuts.
A leaked internal email from the E tū union to Stuff members accuses the company of presenting an “illogical” proposal impacting 28roles – and says it will “drastically undermine” the quality journalism the company is trying to promote.
It says the proposal – understood to be across a range of disciplines including digital production, senior journalists in the National Correspondents team, and other specialist journalism – would see a net loss of eight roles, to 20.
The company also recently laid off about 16 people in its print production team.
“Obviously, it is 28 lives that have been thrown into uncertainty,” says the email, referring to the latest proposal.
The union says it will be looking at legal options and has written to Stuff in the first instance, seeking to halt the proposal until the company “complies with its legal obligations”.
The email says the proposal is “another potential savage blow to the quality of the publications you work for”.
In a statement to the Herald, Stuff said it was continuing its transformation into three distinct businesses and consulting with staff in good faith and “according to our legal responsibilities”.
It has taken issue with details in the union’s email leaked to the Herald, saying there are “several inaccuracies”. The Herald has asked Stuff to outline what is inaccurate.
The proposal follows a raft of leadership and personnel changes at Stuff, and the overhaul of its editorial structure. Laura Maxwell took over as CEO from owner Sinead Boucher in July, and along with her new role has been the appointment of three managing directors to look after various divisions – Nadia Tolich (Digital), Jo Norris (Masthead Publishing), and Matt Headland (Brand Connections). Boucher has become the executive chair.
Stuff's leadership team, from left: Nadia Tolich, Laura Maxwell, Matt Headland, Sinead Boucher, and Jo Norris. Photo / Stuff
Senior staffers such as Head of News Mark Stevens and ThePost editor Caitlin Cherry as well as various high-profile reporters including Eloise Gibson and Alison Mau have all left, or are leaving, the business for a wide range of reasons in recent weeks.
It is understood the company plans to disband the National Correspondents team, as part of the new proposal, with some of the long-form/investigative writers given the option of joining a specific masthead within the business.
Just about every media business in New Zealand is undergoing transformation and reducing costs, partly because of the economic climate, but also to meet changing audience demands and the rise of the likes of AI.
But with Stuff’s latest proposal, the E tū union says there is “no explanation or chance to contest the necessity of job losses” and it has taken issue with the process on several fronts. Among its issues, the union claims:
Affected staff have been “given just a week to decide if they want to reapply for jobs”
In some cases, “the possible jobs are completely different to their skills”
The company has not provided details for proposed new roles including job descriptions or proposed hours of work.
The union says that staff have also not been given any information or the chance to comment on the proposed new structure, “the justification as to why their job is disestablished as opposed to any other job and why there are varying degrees of opportunity following disestablishment”.
“In other words, the company is attempting [to] bypass all the accepted processes of consultation over a restructuring,” says E tū.
“They are trying to do nothing more than give those affected by the pre-determined outcome a few days to say whether they as individuals want to take one option or another with regard to their future employment. There is, however, no option of voluntary redundancy on offer.”
The union argues that one week “is nowhere near enough time for people to decide their entire future”.
“We will also be looking at legal options, as we believe the process the company is following is woefully short of the legal standard. We will be asking to have the entire process halted until the company goes back and complies with its legal obligations to consult affected staff.”
The union said members only had to look at the “still-unfolding consequences, both for staff and the company, of the cuts to print producers and adoption of new technology to see how ill-considered proposals can be when they become reality”.
It said the proposed changes would only “serve to lessen the quality of various publications we put out”.
Stuff was approached for comment early on Monday morning, with a list of specific questions arising from the union email.
In a statement, a company spokesperson said: “There are several inaccuracies in the information you’ve been given. We are continuing the transformation process of organising ourselves into three distinct businesses. We are consulting with our staff in good faith and according to our legal responsibilities. This process is confidential to the staff involved.”
E tū organiser Michael Gilchrist confirmed to the Herald on Monday morning that the union had written to Stuff, asking it to respond by 12pm to its concerns.
He reiterated the union’s desire for what it believed needed to be a full, fair, and legal consultation process, in part to prevent the company from making any rash decisions. He said the proposal impacted various roles and staff, including some familiar names.
Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.
