eNCA to cut 171 jobs as South African news channel shifts to digital-first model
Broadcaster eNCA is planning to cut 171 jobs, putting more than half its 309-strong workforce at risk as it overhauls its newsroom for. South African — full…
South African broadcaster eNCA is planning to cut 171 jobs, putting more than half its 309-strong workforce at risk as it overhauls its newsroom for a digital-first future. The move lands hard in a media industry already hit by repeated retrenchments.
Staff were called to eMedia’s offices at noon on Wednesday, when the section 189 consultation process was due to begin. The notices, signed by eNCA managing director Norman Munzhelele, say the 24-hour news channel is moving away from a traditional newsroom structure that no longer fits how audiences watch and read the news.
A newsroom built for TV, remade for screens
The proposed cuts will affect the news, technical and broadcasting departments. eNCA says its current setup reflects legacy newsroom models that no longer match an audience increasingly consuming news outside linear television.
That shift is not unique to South Africa. Newsrooms from London to Los Angeles have spent years trimming television-heavy operations as viewers move to phones, streaming platforms and social feeds. The pressure on 24-hour channels is especially sharp, with constant output expensive to maintain and increasingly hard to monetise.
eNCA says the overhaul is designed to cut duplication, streamline workflows and merge operations. The company also wants to redeploy staff and technical resources. One short sentence captures the mood. It is severe.
Part of a wider media squeeze
The broadcaster joins a growing list of local media operators announcing job cuts in recent years. The restructuring adds another blow to South Africa’s legacy media sector, which has been forced to adapt to weaker television audiences and a tougher advertising environment.
The consultation process now begins, and staff face weeks of uncertainty. The notices make clear the scale of the change: eNCA is not tweaking its model. It is tearing out the old one and building a smaller newsroom around digital consumption instead of the television schedule.
How many jobs survive will emerge through the consultation process. For now, the warning is stark, and the number is hard to miss. 171 jobs are on the line.
