Euronews unveils widespread jobs cuts as it plots move to Brussels

Reports emerging from France suggest that loss-making European news network Euronews is poised to axe almost half of its workforce. At the same time, the 30 year-old channel is set to sell its iconic HQ in Lyon and relocate to Brussels.

Guillaume Dubois

A story in Le Monde puts the total job losses at 198, out of a total workforce of 478. Following a meeting on March 2, where the restructuring decisions were taken, managing director Guillaume Dubois tried to put a positive spin on developments, saying it reflected a desire to become “a European information media for Europeans”. However French journalist union the SNJ said the surprise changes would leave Euronews “a half empty shell” and weaken the “pluralism of information”.

Under the new plans, Euronews will create 100 jobs in Belgium and also operate satellite offices in Rome, Berlin, Lisbon, Madrid and London. International journalists who have been working in Lyon will be invited to return to their home countries. The new set up is expected to deliver annual savings of around €3 million per year.

Euronews, which is reckoned to have lost around €150m over the last ten years, was taken over by Portugal’s Alpac Capital in 2021. At that time, Alpac CEO Pedro Vargas David said: “We firmly believe in the need to amplify Euronews’s voice in the European media landscape. Euronews’ European and independent offer must not only be supported by reinforced. This is the meaning and purpose of Alpac’s investment.”

Euronews, which has long been regarded as a kind of European CNN, currently provides global, multilingual news with a European perspective to over 400 million homes in 160 countries – including 67% of homes in the European Union & UK.