India’s Zee Entertainment Enterprises is planning to cut its workforce by 15%. At the same time, MD and CEO Punit Goenka is proposing a “lean and streamlined” board structure.
A process to “prune” Zee’s staff has begun “to arrive at a streamlined team that is sharply focused on the set goals for the future,” according to management.
A filing to the Indian National Stock Exchange today claimed the new structure was “aimed towards arriving at a cost-effective operational model with speed and agility as the core areas of focus” and “enable the company to chart higher growth by maintaining a keen eye on performance and profitability.”
Goenka’s filing also claimed that “to nurture and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit, which is an intrinsic part of Zee’s DNA, every team member of the lean structure will function as a partner and a co-owner of the company.”
Several staff are set to be promoted across the business, which comprises networks, production assets and streaming service ZEE5 Global. A “detailed composition” of the new-look team would follow after receiving thew “required approvals and guidance from the board.”
The core business units of the new look company will be Broadcast, Digital, Movies and Music.
This comes after Zee’s long-gestating merger with Sony’s Indian business, Culver Max Entertainment, collapsed at the last minute in January.
That was despite Goenka and his father, Zee founder Subhash Chandra, having orders lifted that banned them from the boardrooms of listed companies for a year over allegations of insider trader. This meant Goenka would have led the company, though he is now clearly focused on reshaping Zee.
