TVNZ is proposing to cut up to 68 roles as the broadcaster responds to falling revenue, with the head of one of the programmes affected calling the planned changes "devastating".
The company hasn't said yet said what areas of the business the roles are coming from. But it is understood current affairs show Sunday and digital youth platform Re: News are among those affected within News and Current Affairs.
Speculation has also centred on consumer affairs show Fair Go, but executive producer Nicola Russell declined to comment, saying: "Out of respect for all our TVNZ colleagues, we can't comment at this time."
The content producer team, which edits video for broadcast and digital, is also understood to have been been invited to consultation meetings tomorrow.
Sunday's executive producer Jane Skinner said: "This news today is devastating. For our Sunday team and the wider newsroom - all professional, creative and committed people.
"I remain optimistic that good, strong long form journalism can survive as we believe it's essential to a well-rounded media landscape. Lets hope there's a more positive outcome than what's projected right now."
E tū, the union which represents media workers, said that they were alarmed by the proposal and are worried that there will not be an adequate process for working through it.
Negotiation specialist Michael Wood said that they would be challenging the cuts in the interests of affected members and the wider public.
"TVNZ has a responsibility, not just to the Government as sole shareholder but to all New Zealanders, to lead a positive vision for the future of media."
He said that the the union understands consultation would only be open for a very short period of time.
"Giving workers just a few working days to understand and give feedback on this proposal would be simply ridiculous.
"Every New Zealander has a stake in this decision, as it will have a huge impact on the quality of public media. TVNZ and the Government, as the sole shareholder, must take a wider view that reflects the importance of this platform for everyone."
Media sector challenges
TVNZ Chief executive Jodi O'Donnell this morning said the company had to respond to challenging economic times and structural challenges within the media sector that were impacting revenue.
“TVNZ’s executive team has focused on reducing operating costs over the last 12 months," O'Donnell said.
"Unfortunately, we’re now at the point where we need to reduce the size of our team to bring our costs more in line with our revenue. Changes like the ones we’re proposing are incredibly hard, but we need to ensure we’re in a stronger position to transform the business to meet the needs of our viewers in a digital world.
“There are no easy answers, and media organisations locally and globally are grappling with the same issues. Our priority is to support our people through the change process - we’ll take the next few weeks to collect, consider and respond to feedback from TVNZers before making any final decisions.”
Last Friday, the broadcaster revealed an operating loss of $4.6 million for the six-month period to the end of December in its half-yearly results.
Total revenue of $155.9 million was down 13.5% on last year and was blamed on “a challenging trading environment” with television advertising revenue significantly down.
Job cuts and redundancies have been signalled at TVNZ for weeks.
It currently has around 700 employees.
The news comes a week after Warner Bros Discovery said it planned to shut rival news organisation Newshub down completely at the end of June.
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