NMG slashes employees' salaries as coronavirus pandemic bites

The Nation Media Group has become the latest media house in Kenya to slash the salaries of its employees. In a staff memo that was addressed to all NMG employees based in Kenya, the media house said that the salary cuts are temporary and would be reviewed every three months.

“We have taken the painful but necessary decision to temporarily reduce the gross pay for all staff earning a gross monthly pay of Sh. 50,000 and over, effective from 1st May 2020. The pay reduction depends on your gross pay and ranges from five per cent to thirty five per cent. The Human Resource department and your line manager will get in touch with you separately on your individual change,” the letter by the Group Chief Executive Officer Stephen Gitagama said.

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Mr. Gitagama also announced that the management of the Nation Media Group had already undertaken several cost-cutting interventions to keep the business running. “As part of these measures, the Board of Directors have taken a reduction on their Directors’ fees,” he said. “We have considered several other alternatives, and the decision taken is the most sustainable option in the current circumstances. This unavoidable action is temporary and will be reviewed every three months depending on the company’s performance and as the Covid-19 situation evolves.”

The Nation Media Group joined media houses, The Standard Group, MediaMax, and Royal Media Services who have all announced salary cuts. Employees at MediaMax are the worst hit. The media house owned by the Kenyatta Family is cutting salaries by fifty per cent, a move that seen over 100 employees head to court in protest. On Sunday, President Uhuru Kenyatta was reported to have visited the MediaMax offices in a bid to resolve the pay dispute between the disgruntled employees and the company.