Al Jazeera America to lay off 197 employees


Details

Rebecca Hawkes

| 25 January 2016




Al Jazeera is making 197 employees redundant as it prepares to close down its US cable TV network at the end of April 2016.



The Qatar-owned media company announced the figure in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice required by US labour law, adding that the lay-offs will happen between 12 and 26 April.

US labour law requires that companies with 100 or more staff must provide 60 days advance notice through a WARN of company premises closures and mass redundancies.

In 2013 Al Jazeera bought the US cable TV network Current TV, owned by former US vice president Al Gore and his business partner Joel Hyatt, for US$500 million.

Less than three years on, it is shutting down Al Jazeera America, citing the economic landscape of the media environment. It will instead expand its international digital services to broaden its multi-platform presence in the US.

“I greatly respect the unrivalled commitment and excellent work of our team, which has created great journalism. We have increasingly set ourselves apart from all the rest, and the achievements of the past two-and-a-half years should be a source of immense pride for everyone,” said Al Anstey, CEO, Al Jazeera America as the announcement was made.