BX1 staff disrupt broadcasts to criticise layoffs

BX1 staff are sharply criticising a round of layoffs that saw at least eight of their colleagues dismissed, some of whom have over 20 years of journalism experience or are high-profile, on-screen personalities.

Two of the employees are said to have left the French-language Brussels broadcaster of their own accord while six were dismissed with immediate effect.

Among the layoffs are Murielle Berck, Valérie Leclercq and Cyprien Houdmont, Bruzz reports.

“I’ve been working here for 29 years,” said Berck. “It’s the end of an era in my life. It's very sad. Sad for the colleagues who are leaving, and for those who are staying.”

In addition to a quarter of the editorial staff, a finance director and a member of the sales department have also been dismissed.

The restructuring is not the result of a subsidy cut, but because management said labour costs had become too high.

“It's obviously not with a light heart that we're doing this,” said managing director Annebel Joseph, who has been in her position for only three weeks.

“We're doing it because we have to, despite ourselves. The economic situation is catastrophic and it's having a serious impact on our services.”

Employees at the city channel were already unhappy following the departure of director Marc De Haan, who was set to be given a generous severance package until protests led to a scaled-down agreement.

Out of solidarity with the dismissed employees, BX1 has been broadcasting a streamlined programme schedule in recent days.

“It's important to show that this affects us deeply,” said camera operator Nicolas Scheenaerts.

“We stand with them and we don't have the moral capacity to work today. Nevertheless, we want to think about our future and how to keep the people of Brussels informed.”

Staff took their protest further last Friday when they disrupted the broadcast for an all-staff meeting to discuss the future of the station.

The staff are organising another "general meeting to discuss the organisation of work in the coming weeks and months".