Southern Cross Media set to cut up to 200 jobs as falling TV ad revenue forces a major post-merger cost reset
Up to 200 workers at Southern Cross Media Group, the company formed from the January 2026 merger of Seven West Media and Southern Cross Media, are facing redundancy this week as the new chief executive moves to stabilise the business against a sharply deteriorating television advertising market.
Rohan Lund, who took on the chief executive role at the Sydney-headquartered company in May 2026, is expected to formally notify staff of the cuts in coming days, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
The majority of redundancies will fall on the Seven West Media side of the business, with the television newsroom among those already notified, the sources said. Southern Cross Media's board is understood to have met on 10 June 2026 to approve the decision.
Seven West Media and Southern Cross Media Group completed their merger in January 2026, creating one of Australia's most prominent media companies with assets spanning broadcast television, audio, and newspapers.
The combined entity owns the Seven Network, radio networks Triple M and the Hit Network, digital audio platform LiSTNR, and West Australian Newspapers, which publishes The West Australian and The Nightly.
Despite that scale, the merged business has faced immediate financial headwinds. Australia's media agency advertising market was down 11.6% in April 2026, impacted by the absence of political advertising, according to data from Guideline SMI.
The television segment has been hardest hit: television ad spend declined 7.6% in the full financial year to 2024–25, according to Guideline SMI's annual report. The source article reported the television sector was down 25% in April 2026 compared with the same month in 2025, compounding a multi-year contraction.
The company's market capitalisation has fallen from approximately $420 million at the time of the merger to around $287 million, according to sources cited in reporting on the matter.
What HR leaders should watch
The redundancy process raises significant obligations for people leaders under Australian employment law. Under the Fair Work Act, once a decision to make major changes has been made, an employer must as soon as possible notify affected employees about the proposed changes, provide clear information about the changes and their expected effects, discuss strategies to reduce the negative effects on employees, and consider employee ideas or suggestions.
For businesses considering making 15 or more employees redundant, the employer must also give Services Australia written notification of the proposed dismissals.
The brief consultation window at West Australian Newspapers – reported as just five days – is likely to attract scrutiny.
The cuts come at a time when media industry redundancies are not isolated to Southern Cross Media. Nine Entertainment recently conducted redundancies in its television news division amid broader economic pressure.
Lund has publicly framed the changes as a necessary cost reset rather than a structural failure. He reportedly described the cuts as "the nature of the business" in an interview with industry publication Mumbrella, while acknowledging the radio division had already undergone significant cost reductions ahead of the television side of the company.
