This archive report was first published on 15 July 2019.
Kenya's Switch TV is facing a tough reality in the competitive media industry. The television station has fired 35 employees in a cost-cutting measure that has left the industry reeling in shock, coming just nine months after its launch in September 2018.
The layoffs, which occurred on Friday, affected reporters, anchors, producers, and other support staff. According to sources, Switch TV had a bloated payroll of over 100 employees, which it inherited from a hiring spree ahead of its launch.
The television station, owned by the Kenya Red Cross, reportedly needs only about 50 employees, indicating that more people could be offloaded in the coming weeks. The layoffs spared the top editorial leadership, including head of content Tamima Ibrahim, former Kiss 100 morning show host Shaffie Weru, and Davidson Ngibuini, formerly of 1FM.
Switch TV's Managing Editor position has been scrapped, and anchors are now doubling as news editors. The move has raised questions about Tamima's management style and the station's profligate expenditure on programming.
Several high-profile presenters have left the station in recent months, including Remy Majala and Leah Ngari. A source at Switch TV revealed that a prominent presenter earns Ksh600,000 per episode, while one program overseen by Tamima costs Ksh1.3 million to record.
Switch TV is struggling to turn a profit in the competitive TV market, which is dominated by established brands like Citizen, KTN, and NTV. The station's positioning to attract a younger audience has yet to bring in enough eyeballs to entice commercial advertisers.
