GB News is to cut 40 jobs as the opinionated broadcaster battles to stem losses.
Staff were informed of the cuts at a company-wide meeting on Friday afternoon following previous warnings that a restructuring would lead to some employees losing their jobs.
Bosses are offering up to two months’ salary and a possible payment in lieu of notice to any workers willing to take voluntary redundancy.
The cutbacks, which represent roughly 14pc of GB News’s workforce, come after the company revealed its losses ballooned to £42.2m last year.
GB News’s wage bill surged from £12.7m to £21.2m in 2023 as it splashed out on salaries for high-profile presenters such as Nigel Farage and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg. Overall headcount jumped from 175 to 295 last year.
Angelos Frangopoulos, chief executive of GB News, has admitted the channel is facing challenges to stem its growing losses, saying it needed to find “smarter routes to sustainability and profit”.
Appearing in front of MPs last month, the GB News boss said: “We’re very confident about the future of being self-sufficient financially, but we have a lot of work to do.”
GB News has been rocked by an advertising boycott since its launch in 2021, forcing it to explore ways to diversify its revenues away from ads.
The broadcaster last year launched a paid membership scheme, while it has also expanded into the US and increased the number of live events it hosts with presenters such as Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.
However, the start-up channel has been forced to deepen its reliance on billionaire hedge fund investor Sir Paul Marshall and Dubai-based hedge fund Legatum, who own GB News through holding company All Perspectives.
GB News’s most recent filings show that the amount owed to its parent company almost doubled from £42.8m to £83.8m in the last year alone.
The company said All Perspectives had an “ongoing commitment to funding the operations” of the channel.
Sir Paul is reportedly preparing to step down from the board of All Perspectives ahead of a renewed bid to buy the Telegraph.
The tycoon, who co-founded the hedge fund Marshall Wace, is expected to hand over his board seat to Lord Agnew, the chairman of UnHerd Ventures, Sky News reported.
Sir Paul is also a major investor in UnHerd, which owns the online magazine of the same name.
GB News declined to comment.
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Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
