NHK plans to cut the number of employees in managerial positions by 30%, it was learned Friday.
The move is designed to reduce personnel costs as revenue at NHK is projected to fall due to planned cuts in its television viewer fees and a decrease in the number of households in the country, informed sources said.
Specifically, NHK will run an early retirement program between fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2023 for employees aged 50-56, the sources said. Applicants will be given support for finding new jobs.
NHK will also introduce a system in which employees reaching a certain age or meeting specific conditions are removed from managerial positions, the sources said.
Terunobu Maeda, president of Japan Broadcasting Corp., explains the public broadcaster’s midterm management plan in August 2020. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) has announced its plan to lower viewing fees in fiscal 2023, marking a change of course after initially insisting it would prioritize cost-cutting efforts.
NHK outlined its planned fee reduction in its midterm management plan for fiscal 2021 through fiscal 2023 on Jan. 13.
It plans to secure about 70 billion yen ($675 million), equivalent to 10 percent of its operating expenditures, to cover the expected drop in viewing fees by reviewing rebuilding plans for its broadcasting center in Tokyo’s Shibuya district and pooling its surplus funds.
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