Next Media Service has abruptly dismissed over 30 employees in a massive exit occasioned by a harsh economy.
KAMPALA — Next Media Services has laid off over 30 employees that the multimedia company said are not digitally ready for their next transformation journey.
Sources at Next Media told this website that the most affected is the editorial department, which has seen notable figures such as Edris Kiggundu, Noah Kyeyune, Elijah Turyagumanawe, John Kibalizi and Fatia Nassali shown the exit.
Also affected are Aminah Nabukenya, Jordan Mubangizi, Esther Namutamba, sports analyst Micheal Kigozi and Karitas Karisimbi.
According to some of the termination letters seen by this website, Next Media Group CEO Kin Kariisa said the company is responding to difficulties in the economy rendering them unable to pay salaries.
According to a company statement, Next Media says after lengthy consideration, they had to have some of the staff go. The letter quotes the group CEO, explaining how it had been a very difficult decision to take particularly when many of the workers are long serving.
A source at the Naguru – based company said Next Media Services’ Human Resource Manager Paul Lwanga late on Tuesday summoned selected staff to announce the heartbreaking news of their exit from the station.
Lwanga reportedly asked the laid off staff to stop reporting for duty effective Thursday, December 1, 2022 but would receive the mandatory 3 months’ notice salary in lieu of termination.
Kin Kariisa has been the best paying Media owner in the country over the years as his empire expanded with top cream talent drawn from competing stations and remunerated better.
The news department that currently employs more than 100 people is most affected in the lay off followed by production and programing divisions.
This comes two weeks after Kariisa in a staff address said the company would be taking a new direction.
“We simply cannot continue to approach our work the same as we currently do, especially with our winning DNA,” Kariisa was quoted as telling staff recently.
“There is need to prepare to execute a strategy that will keep our brands attractive and, very importantly, relevant in our very competitive environment,” Kariisa said.
Next Media owns NBS TV, Next Radio, Sanyuka TV, Salaam TV and Nile Post, among others, and employs up to 200 workers across its platforms.
Kariisa in October unveiled a multi-purpose Media complex estimated to have cost more than USD 1.5 Million to house the conglomerate.
Over the last two years, Nation Media Group (NMG), which owns Daily Monitor, NTV, KFM and Dembe FM in Kampala as well as other media houses across the East African region, has reduced its workforce as the media business shifts to the digital space to survive the effects of COVID-19.
