Standard Group Gears Up For a New Round of Layoff

Weeks after he was appointed Acting Group Chief Executive Officer at Standard Group (SG), Chaacha Mwita is planning on shedding off more workers in the coming months. For the second day past week, Mwita, who a few months ago was appointed executive editor, has been holding phased meetings with workers from different sections with a chilling message: a new structure is coming, and some positions will be rendered redundant.

Most people feel that the redundancy is Chaacha Mwita’s entry strategy into retooling Standard’s media business. But it could turn out to be a gamble as all departments are strained. As he builds his recovery team, insiders say some big heads laid off from Standard could make a comeback both to TV and the newspaper.

This comes as Standard Group grapples with frozen accounts by the Kenya Revenue Authority, which has seen it fall behind in paying June and May salaries. While the issue of the former workers who were laid off last year remains sticky, it is clear that the current staff arrears, some going back as long as six months, also remain unresolved, with no word from the management.

The company hopes Ksh 1.5 billion hoped to be raised from its rights issue will come in handy in sorting its financial obligations to current and former employees, suppliers and the Kenya Revenue Authority.

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The company also seems to be more focused on ‘injecting’ in the anti-establishment stance) with some workers who are keen on “straight and unfettered journalism being marked as uncooperative,” a senior journalist privy to the media house’s editorial operations said.

The arrival of Alex Kiprotich, who was based in Nakuru, appears to have shifted the editorial policy at Standard, to a more anti-government and pro-people approach. This has earned Standard a lot of praise, but barbs from state sympathizers. Newspaper circulation could as well have grown but its tough stance could be counterproductive by stifling advertising from government and its sympathizers.

The expected layoffs are likely to dent the company’s image, while earning more disappointments from potential advertisers coming few months after the departure of Marion Gathoga-Mwangi, whose tenure as Group CEO was marked by frustrations from some top editorial managers and other conservative forces within the company.

Most workers are also said to be facing harassment from individuals who view anyone opposed to new editorial ideas as non-cooperative, hence, in insubordination. In fact, it is understood, some individuals without editorial backgrounds are calling the shots on critical editorial matters.

KTN’s editorial department, for example, is being managed by someone from the technical department without a broadcast understanding, someone close to KTN affairs claims. Workers who question some decisions are threatened with sacking, while others are being shuffled around.

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