Several high-profile 7News reporters and presenters have been axed by Southern Cross Media

One of Australia’s biggest media companies is in the process of axing hundreds of full-time employees – including high-profile presenters – after announcing a profit downgrade as market conditions “deteriorate materially”. Southern Cross Media Group, owners of the Seven Network, The West Australian and Southern Cross Austereo, is axing between 250 and 300 full-time staff members, including several veteran news presenters and journalists. In an announcement posted to the ASX on Thursday, the company said the employees would be “leaving the group before June 30”. Inga Neilsen, a familiar face to many news viewers across NSW, is the latest name added to the pile of hard-working Channel 7 journalists taking voluntary redundancies. “After more than six years of telling other people’s stories, it’s time to share some news of my own. Last week, I accepted a redundancy from 7News,” Ms Neilsen wrote in an Instagram post. “A country kid from Braidwood, I achieved my childhood dream of becoming a TV reporter in Sydney. “I’ve covered some of the country’s biggest stories, I’ve met people on the worst days of their lives. Those who lost homes, livelihoods and loved ones to floods and fires. “What I’ll remember most isn’t the tragedy, but the resilience people showed in the face of it.” Melbourne TV reporter Estelle Griepink said she would be wrapping up her time at 7News after 11 years on the beat. “I feel so lucky to have fulfilled my childhood dream of becoming a news reporter. I’ve had a front-row seat to some of the biggest stories in the world and filed for CNN and the BBC in the process,” Griepink wrote on social media. “I’ve worked with the most incredible colleagues, made lifelong friendships along the way and been lucky enough to cover stories interstate and overseas.” Griepink said she was ready to take a “leap of faith” into the next stage of her life. Newsreader Natarsha Belling, veteran correspondent Chris Maher and reporters Brianna Jackson and Amy Clements are among those understood to have been tapped by management, The Daily Telegraph reported. It’s the latest blow for the company, which was formed earlier this year in the merger of Southern Cross Austereo and Seven West Media, previously owned by billionaire Kerry Stokes. SCM said it was launching a “cost reduction program” to “remove duplication, streamline and automate our processes, further focus our content acquisition and better leverage the group’s management infrastructure and procurement scale”. The group said it now expected underlying EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of $185m to $190m compared with the previously advised range of $200m to $220m. It says the staff affected would be primarily “mid and back office, and corporate staff”. In an email to staff seen by NewsWire, chief executive Rohan Lund said the decision had “not been taken lightly”. “We have so many talented people in this business and I couldn’t be more impressed by the passion and care you show every day for the business and for each other,” Mr Lund said. “That is the culture we will need to deliver on the strategy – a culture based on genuine care and trust. “But we need to be honest with ourselves that those markets are under immense pressure.” Mr Lund said the business was “navigating a demanding market” and there was ultimately “no choice but to reset the cost base”. “This transformation involves making incredibly tough choices regarding our team structures, and we will be saying goodbye to many smart, talented, and hardworking colleagues who have played a vital role in building both businesses,” he said. “We are a better company because of their dedication, and we are committed to treating every departing team member with the respect and compassion they deserve.” The group hold a town hall meeting for staff on Thursday morning to discuss “a path forward”. The upheaval comes just a month after Mr Lund began his tenure as the new chief executive of Southern Cross Media. In February, SCA chief executive and managing director Jeff Howard abruptly left the company. Mr Howard was the former boss of Seven West Media and took on the role following the $400m merger. Asked previously about recent and future redundancies in the radio division of the company, Mr Lund acknowledged they had been through a lot of “pain” but reiterated it was “just the nature of the business”.