The highest-ranking commissioner at Channel 4’s Leeds office is set to be let go, according to the Guardian. This will result in a lack of key decision makers residing in the city where the broadcaster’s “national headquarters” are located.
Caroline Hollick, currently head of drama, will see her role eliminated as part of cost-saving efforts. It will now fall under the responsibility of Ollie Madden, director of Film4, and will be managed from Channel 4’s London location.
Hollick was the sole department head residing in Leeds, responsible for commissioning the Bafta-winning movie I Am Ruth featuring Kate Winslet and for the success of The Couple Next Door, the channel’s top scripted streaming debut.
Some higher-level employees divide their schedule between London and Leeds, whereas others are stationed in Leeds but travel from Manchester and the north-east to the Leeds office, according to Channel 4.
The position of drama head is among the 200 positions that will be eliminated from Channel 4’s current staff of 1,200. An additional 40 vacancies will not be filled and the company plans to sell their £90m headquarters in London and relocate to a smaller office.
Although the majority of the cuts are expected to target London, concerns have been raised by staff members that this is being used as an opportunity to backtrack on efforts to increase representation of audiences in areas outside of London by the year 2025.
In 2020, Channel 4 opened their headquarters in Leeds, at the previous location of the Majestic nightclub. The company stated that this move would enhance their connection to communities all over the UK, increase accessibility for industry partners, and make them more visible to potential future employees.
The network’s dedication to this goal has faced criticism due to the cancellation of its popular show, Steph’s Packed Lunch, which was filmed at Leeds Docks and hosted by Steph McGovern, at the end of last year.
There is still anticipation among viewers about whether a new season of the show The Couple Next Door, which was filmed in both Leeds and Belgium, will be given the green light.
Bectu, the broadcasting union, recently expressed their disapproval towards senior management’s decision to accept bonuses at Channel 4. They deemed it a disrespectful move towards those facing job cuts within the company.
The CEO, Alex Mahon, the CCO, Ian Katz, and the COO, Jonathan Allan, all agreed to lower their bonuses.
During a challenging time for the UK’s film and television employees and overall industry, the union expressed disappointment over the news of Channel 4 executives receiving significant bonuses.
A representative from Channel 4 stated that their Fast Forward plan is carefully crafted to utilize their regional setup in order to increase funding and employment opportunities in every part of the UK.
They stated: “Due to our shift towards a primarily digital public service streamer and our efforts to sustain long-term success, we have been faced with tough choices, including downsizing our workforce.”
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As a result, there have been departures from all of our locations, but we have decreased our out-of-London commissioning team at a lower rate than our London team. Our main priority is still to meet our diversity goals, which currently exceed the makeup of the overall workforce.
Hollick has been reached out to for a statement.
Source: theguardian.com
