Pflimlin says he may extend France Télévisions redundancies plan

France Télévisions president Rémy Pflimlin has said it may be necessary to extend a voluntary redundancy plan put in place by his predecessor in order to meet cost reduction targets at the public broadcaster.

In a letter to partners, Pflimlin played down what he described as “alarmist” speculation that the broadcaster would have to lay off personnel outside of the voluntary redundancy scheme. However, he indicated that it may be necessary to widen the scope of the scheme beyond personnel close to retirement.

Pflimlin said that in view of the diminished resources likely to be available to the broadcaster, it was necessary that it further differentiate the identity of its channels, putting stress on its public service role.

Pflimlin dismissed speculation around the future of France 3, the broadcaster’s second channel, describing it as “an asset for public service” which played a major role particularly in regional and national news.