Zee slashes 50% staff at tech and innovation centre in Bengaluru amidst cost-cutting measure
Following senior-level departures, Zee Entertainment has reduced its workforce at the Bengaluru-based Technology and Innovation centre to cut costs. The Technology & Innovation Centre’s (TIC) structure has been scaled down by approximately 50 percent following guidance from the board during the Monthly Management Mentorship (3M) Program.
In order to bring the costs under control, Punit has cut down 50% of the workforce at the tech and innovation centre in Bengaluru. This is in line with the guidance that he got from the Board.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises announced that the Technology & Innovation Centre (TIC) will now focus on improving content creation, distribution, and monetization processes using technology-driven tools to understand consumer preferences better. This decision follows the institutionalization of a Monthly Management Mentorship (3M) Program by the Zee board, aimed at helping the management achieve key performance metrics, including a targeted 20 percent EBITDA margin.
“We are laser-focused towards creating exceptional content… To achieve this, we need the blend of a creative approach, detailed consumer insights and futuristic technology solutions. The core and streamlined team at TIC will now only focus on enabling and empowering us in this process of content creation, distribution and monetisation,” said Punit Goenka, MD & CEO, ZEE.
The company emphasized that these measures aim to optimize resources and establish a cost-effective structure to sustain growth. Additionally, they announced the strategic realignment of the revenue vertical, which will now be directly overseen by the MD and CEO.
The recent changes at the TIC reflect the company’s strategic focus on cost-effectiveness while maintaining productivity and competitiveness. These measures follow the termination of the merger with Sony earlier this year.
The company initially made strategic changes in the revenue vertical of its broadcast business and accepted the resignation of Rahul Johri, who led the revenue and monetization vertical for three years. Subsequently, the President of Technology and Data, Nitin Mittal, also resigned.
The company announced that Amrit Thomas (data science), Kishore Krishnamurthy (engineering), Bhushan Kolleri (product), and Vishal Somani (enterprise and content technology) will report to Amit Goenka, President of Digital Businesses & Platforms, on an interim basis.
