Zee responds to stock exchange query on layoff media report

MUMBAI: In a regulatory filing with  the BSE on 3 December, Zee’s company secretary Ashish Agarwal insisted that recent job cuts are merely part of an “omni-channel approach” to create a “more agile and collaborative organisation structure.” The clarification came after the Economic Times reported fresh layoffs hitting the company as its business suffers from the collapsed Sony deal.

But Zee’s corporate jargon can’t hide the timeline. Back in April 2024, managing director and chief executive Punit Goenka proposed a “lean organisation structure” that would axe 15 per cent of the workforce “over a period.” That’s corporate-speak for: brace yourselves.

The company is adamant this “optimisation” is an “ongoing exercise based on business dynamics” with “no impact on operation/performance.”  Translation: we’re cutting staff but everything’s fine. Honest.

Zee reassured stock exchange officials that it has “always complied” with disclosure requirements and will continue doing so. Which is reassuring, given that’s literally the legal minimum.

For a company that once dreamed of becoming a media colossus through the Sony merger, Zee is now learning that sometimes less isn’t more—it’s just less.