THE country’s largest media company, Media Prima Bhd, is expected to offer a mutual separation scheme (MSS) to 300 staff in three of its television stations in a bid to ease financial losses.

 The offer by the company, which operates four free-to-air television stations and three newspaper publications, is a follow up to earlier schemes to reduce its staff strength. Previously it had offered voluntary separation scheme (VSS) and career break leave (CBL) to staff.

Sources told The Malaysian Insight that Media Prima’s top management last night made the offer to the 1,100 staff in three networks – NTV7, 8TV and TV3.

“According to the briefing, the MSS will be done in two steps. The first will begin next week, and the second in June next year. The target is to reduce workforce from 1,100 to about 800,” a source said.

The source said the editorial side, the management was planning to let go 70 employees, starting with 24 in the first phase next week, and then another 46 in June at the second phase.

The source also said the heads of departments have already prepared a list of staff members who will be let off.

Compensation will be a month’s pay for every year in service.  For example, a staff member who had worked in the company for five years with a monthly wage of RM3,000 will receive RM15,000 in total.

The source also said management will be selling off some assets to pay off debts, in addition to the downsizing.

In the past year, Media Prima has been offering CBL to its employees, where they have the option to either take six months of unpaid leave or to work half the month for half-month salary.

Media Prima is the country’s largest media conglomerate, which owns TV3, NTV7, 8TV, the New Straits Times and others. Other than owning print and television media assets, Media Prima also has 12 websites under Rev Asia, which it had purchased for RM150 million.

The conglomerate’s net loss for the 2017 financial year was more than RM669 million.

Yesterday, the media conglomerate told Bursa Malaysia that it recorded a net loss of RM30.71 million in the July to September period, as compared to a net profit of RM31.95 million in the second quarter. – November 23, 2018.