RNZ is seeking voluntary redundancies, just a month after it was told its budget would be slashed by almost $5 million a year for the next four years.
It is understood to be the first time in RNZ’s history – the public broadcaster is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year – that it has sought voluntary redundancies.
“I can confirm that RNZ has opened a voluntary redundancy scheme,” chief executive Paul Thompson said in a statement, confirming Media Insider’s earlier reporting.
“Applications for voluntary redundancy will be considered against the need to retain necessary skills, knowledge and experience within teams or critical risk areas.”
Thompson’s statement did not address Media Insider questions of how many voluntary redundancies the broadcaster was seeking, or which areas might be considered.
“Any discussion around leaving an organisation, even if this is voluntary, is unsettling for the people involved and out of respect for our hardworking people, we will not be commenting further or sharing further details of the scheme while it remains open,” said Thompson.
RNZ’s move comes after hundreds of jobs have been lost across the commercial media sector over the past two years, including the high-profile closures of Newshub and Today FM, the shutdown of TVNZ shows such as Fair Go and Sunday and job losses at NZME and Stuff.
An email was expected to be sent to RNZ staff today, outlining the situation. RNZ has almost 350 staff.
As Media Insider revealed in April, RNZ’s funding has been under close scrutiny and – on the day of the Budget release last month – Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith wielded the scalpel.
“RNZ has had funding increases in recent years, most notably a boost of $26m a year in 2023, on top of a previous increase of $7.3m per year in 2020,” said Goldsmith at the time.
He said RNZ’s funding would be cut by about $18m over the next four years – this equated to $4.6m a year, which was equivalent to about 7% of its annual operating budget of $67m.
“This savings initiative recognises that government-funded media must deliver the same efficiency and value for money as the rest of the public sector,” said Goldsmith.
“I expect RNZ to improve audience reach, trust and transparency. I am confident the organisation can do so while operating in a period of tightened fiscal constraint.”
Goldsmith’s office has been briefed about the plan for voluntary redundancies under the Government’s no-surprises policy.
RNZ chairman Jim Mather said at the time that the broadcaster was “naturally disappointed” about the budget cut.
“We acknowledge the Government’s fiscal challenges at present as well as the headwinds affecting the wider media sector,” he said. “We will now carefully review our plans to ensure we continue to strengthen trust with audiences and provide outstanding public media that matters for New Zealanders.”
Mather has also been approached for comment about the voluntary redundancy plan.
In 2023-24, under the previous Labour Government, RNZ’s annual budget was boosted by almost $25m, from $42m a year to $66.6m. That funding injection was maintained by the National-led coalition for 2024-25.
RNZ has previously said those new levels of funding – its first material increase since 2009 – have been critical for catch-up work and as it transforms into a digital-first media organisation.
The boosted budget had also helped RNZ lift staff numbers from 309 to 347, while those earning more than $100,000 have increased from 107 to 145. The company’s overall salary budget increased from $32m in 2022-23 to $37m in 2023-24.
The more recent announcement of budget cuts has meant the broadcaster has had to review all of its cost lines.
As well as a reduced budget, RNZ is also grappling with languishing radio ratings.
RNZ National‘s radio audience has fallen to its lowest number in more than five years, according to figures in late May.
GFK data shows RNZ has a cumulative audience of 467,700 – a fall of 21,900 (4.5%) since the previous ratings release in November 2024.
In the first survey of 2020, RNZ had an audience of just over 654,000 and was more than 110,000 ahead of its commercial news rival Newstalk ZB.
Five years on, RNZ is now almost 180,000 listeners behind ZB, which has grown its audience in the same five-year period and has maintained consistent ratings more recently.
RNZ, which once led the market, is now eighth based on cumulative audience – behind ZB and six music stations (Breeze, More FM, ZM, The Edge, The Rock and Mai FM).
Goldsmith earlier told Media Insider that RNZ had done a good job in building its digital engagement; its website now a clear third behind Stuff and the NZ Herald.
“Yes, you can have an app which a lot of people read and engage with and use the material that RNZ is developing, but they should never lose sight of the fact that the core business is having live radio and doing that well in a competitive environment.”
He said could never interfere with RNZ editorial decisions, “but as a shareholding minister, I am interested in the performance of the organisation and there are a couple of really core measures”.
“Are people listening, and how they are competing, and then secondly, the broad issue of trust and how does the general public feel about their trustworthiness as a source?”
In an op-ed piece for RNZ in April, chief executive Paul Thompson described the loss of roles in journalism “deeply concerning”.
“Fewer stories are being reported and public trust in core institutions – including the media itself – is declining,” he wrote.
“In the past two years, two major newsrooms have closed and the range of media choices for New Zealanders has narrowed.
“It is not RNZ’s job to fix these systemic problems. But as a cornerstone public service, we are responding, adapting and helping where we can, through our coverage, content sharing and through projects like the Local Democracy Reporting service.
“We take seriously the responsibility of being publicly funded, non-commercial and independent. We understand this comes with an obligation to provide high-quality trusted news, audio and video to as many New Zealanders as we can.”
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.
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