Nation Media Group (NMG) is silently laying off correspondents and other contributors as part of efforts to keep its payroll in check. The move has stirred panic and anguish among newspaper correspondents, officially known as contributors, with a good number of them likely to have contracts not renewed for 2026. The move has largely targeted correspondents, freelancers and a number of columnists.
“We refer to the Agreement between yourself and Nation Media Group PLC by which you write articles for publication in the Daily Nation and other media outlets of Nation Media Group PLC,” a letter seen by BT, dated 12th Nov. 2025 and addressed to one of the contributors says. “Nation Media Group PLC wishes to give you one (1) month’s notice of our intention to terminate the said Agreement with effect from the date of this note.”
This group of journalists will be working until 12th December when they will cease being contracted employees of NMG. “Consequently, we inform you shall not be required to submit any articles for publication after 12th December, 2025,” the letter says. “Thank you for your services and co-operation in respect of this Agreement.”
Contributors – comprising freelancers, correspondents and columnists – comprise a huge chunk of NMG’s newspaper journalists working for Daily Nation, Sunday Nation, Business Daily, The east African and TAifa Leo. The move is thus expected to affect many journalists working both at the head office in Nairobi and in the counties.
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While the leading media house has been constrained when it comes to staffing, it still has to make more painful changes to reduce costs and align its operations in a changing business environment.
The layoff comes just eight months after Geoffrey Odundo took over the reins as CEO, for a company that has been going through a rough patch in the past three or so years. NMG financial performance continues to nosedive, with the net loss for the financial year ending December 2024 growing to Ksh254 million, up from Ksh205 million recorded in 2023. While it narrowed the loss in the first half, the company is not out of the woods yet.
Nation Media Group has also been spending big on offloading employees to cut its payroll, hoping to find a leaner staff to work in an increasingly digital media environment. This process alone took up Ksh157.8 million in 2024, contributing a huge part of the loss.
Meanwhile, the termination of contributors’ contracts appears to have set the tone for the end of year strategic plans. It is expected that, in line with its annual ritual, NMG will lay off more permanent staff, mostly journalists and marketing executives just before or after Christmas, at least before end of the first quarter of 2026.
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