The Nation Media Group (NMG), Kenya’s leading newspaper company, has signalled a deep restructuring that goes beyond just staff rationalization. Latest information from NMG indicates that the company, which has been under financial pressure over the past few years, has started shutting down its regional offices to cut on operational costs in a shocking change of fortunes.
The first causality in the latest reorganisation is the coastal region, where it has already announced closure of the Mombasa bureau from March this year. It is understood that the NMG management has already notified its employees, including journalists, marketing/advertising and other support staff, of the imminent closure. “We are shocked by the move,” said an employee at the Mombasa office, who requested not to be identified to protect his job. “We don’t understand. We are just confused.”
Employees have been left to work from home – since no alternative has been offered so far – as from 1st March when NMG will exit its office premises in Mombasa town. “We have been told a lorry will picks all NMG assets and items on 2nd March,” the employee said.
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Nation Media Group, once a highly successfully media company both in print and electronic operations, has lately been facing headwinds, with revenues consistently falling. For the first half of 2025 (ending 30th June, 2025), Nation Media Group (NMG) reported a loss after tax of Ksh41.7 million to Ksh56.3 million.
While this indicated the company is still operating at a loss, it represents a significant, 85.9% improvement compared to the Ksh345.8 million operating loss reported in the first half of 2024.
The company’s has shocked market watchers, at some point issuing profit warning in 2023. The going has not been easy. Not even a change in the C-suite has been able to reverse the downward trend.
The latest move, the first major strategic action by CEO Geoffrey Odundo, to reduce bureaus is being seen as a desperate attempt to reduce expenses at the company, with advertising revenues fall ing due to the onslaught of digital media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok among others.
Insiders say more regional newsrooms are set to be closed, raising tension among hundreds of NMG staff across the country. Mombasa was one of NMG’s main regional bureaus followed by Kisumu, Nakuru, Nyeri and Eldoret. This has also set the company more deeper cuts in staff numbers as the year kicks off in earnest.
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