RNZ has opened a voluntary redundancy scheme for staff, weeks after the Government announced it would slash the broadcaster’s budget by almost $5 million annually.
Chief executive Paul Thompson confirmed the move, saying he knew the move would be “unsettling” for people working in his organisation.
“I can confirm that RNZ has opened a voluntary redundancy scheme,” he said.
“Applications for voluntary redundancy will be considered against the need to retain necessary skills, knowledge and experience within teams or critical risk areas.
“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.”
Staff at RNZ were told of the scheme in an email this morning.
The public broadcaster has not said how many staffers it wants to take the offer.
RNZ’s move comes after Budget 2025 cut its funding by $18 million over four years, equivalent to $4.6 million annually or about 7% of its $67 million yearly operating budget.
Media Minister Paul Goldsmith said funding cuts recognised “government-funded media must deliver the same efficiency and value-for-money as the rest of the public sector”.
“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,” he said last month.
Goldsmith also increased funding for the Local Democracy Reporting and Open Justice reporting schemes at the Budget.
RNZ received a funding boost in 2023 of around $26 million a year following the previous government’s failed TVNZ-RNZ merger.
The broadcaster’s move follows hundreds of job losses across the commercial media sector over the past two years, including the high-profile closures of Newshub and Today FM, and major job cuts at TVNZ, NZME, and Stuff.