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The Mail & Guardian has notified employees about possible retrenchments which, if they take place, are likely to be effected at the end of August.
September would serve as the notice period.
In a notice to staff on Friday, the publication called employees to a consultation meeting on Monday, to deliberate "solutions-driven alternatives and ideas", adding that the entire structure of the company was being reviewed. The meeting would be the first consultation in a Section 189 process in terms of the Labour Relations Act, Mail & Guardian said.
The company cited challenges faced by traditional media, including the migration of readers from print to digital platforms, as being behind the restructuring process.
"This is placing a significant level of stress on the current business model and operations, and there a is need to restructure the organisation to make it a sustainable business entity," it said.
All departments and subsidiaries are likely to be affected by the process of determining the turnaround plan, according to the company. Actual numbers will only be determined through the consultation process, it added.
Several media companies have cut jobs over the past few years, as they battle shrinking profits and increasing running costs.
The Mail & Guardian said it would consider voluntary retrenchment on a case by case basis. According to the newspaper’s website, the publication belongs to M&G Media Limited, which is majority owned by the international non-profit Media Development Investment Fund, together with CEO Hoosain Karjieker as the local empowerment partner.
A 10% share is held by the M&G Staff Share Trust, and the remaining stakes are shared by minority shareholders.
