Beasley Media Group is among the U.S. radio companies cutting jobs and reducing salaries in the face of the business downturn caused by the coronavirus health crisis.
Beasley made cuts Tuesday. Chief Communications Officer Heidi Raphael confirmed in an emailed statement: “Our company, like other broadcasters and our clients, is being directly impacted by the recent unanticipated economic downturn due to the coronavirus pandemic. Like so many others in our industry, we must adjust to the new and unforeseeable circumstances we now face.”
She said Beasley eliminated 67 positions, and furloughed 18 full-time employees and several part-timers. She did not identify the positions eliminated; RW believes they included about a half-dozen engineers.
The company also reduced salaries for full-time employees by 10% for the second quarter, unless prevented by contractual obligations. CEO Caroline Beasley is taking a 20% reduction. It reduced the hours for full-time hourly employees to 36 hours.
“We anticipate bringing back all furloughed employees at the end of the second quarter or sooner if circumstances permit,” Raphael said.
According to AllAccess and other trade publications, iHeartMedia this week also instituted furloughs and reductions in executive pay.
