Major change coming at RTE, starting with redundancy bid

THE first round of RTÉ’S bid to make up to 200 permanent staff redundant, costing millions of euro, will begin in two months.

And it has emerged that the national broadcaster will also start making other major changes later in the year.

Based on an average payments to staff, plus an expected lump-sum offer of €100,000 per redundancy for a typical employee across all divisions, the cost of the redundancies could come to more than €20million.

Staff will be given up to eight weeks to consider the package, and RTÉ sources say that up to 100 employees will be targeted in the first round, with offers going out in August and the process taking place over the coming two years.

The first round of redundancies is primarily geared at staff over 55 years of age, and if not enough apply then the offer will be broadened out to others.

In all, a minimum of 200 voluntary redundancies – or 10% of staff – are needed as part of the restructuring, in order to cut costs and improve broadcast technologies.

‘It’s expected that a lot of decisions regarding staff and physical changes around the Montrose Campus in Dublin will be made by October this year,’ the sources added. RTÉ director-general Dee Forbes has said: ‘RTÉ has been operating with vastly reduced commercial and licence fee income, now in the region of €330million, compared to €440million in 2008, and has been under-investing in the organisation for nearly a decade now. That is unsustainable.’

Nine acres of the Montrose site, which is being sold, could yield up to €90million and that money will be used to buy in new technology and cut borrowing.

Five property groups have already submitted bids in the first round of offers which had a deadline of May 11.

An offer of €80million has been made by one interested buyer. A second round of land offers is due by next Thursday.