Turner offers buyout option to 600 senior employees

The corporate parent of CNN, TNT and TBS yesterday offered voluntary buyouts to 600 senior employees, as part of a cost-cutting exercise, Associated Press reported.

The offer is meant for US-based employees over 55 who had put in at least 10 years at the company, excluding on-air talent and others with specific contracts. Of the company's 13,000 employees 9,000 are based in the US.

The Ted Turner founded Atlanta-based broadcasting company offered no comment yesterday saying it should become clear this fall how many employees it would let go.

Turner Broadcasting chief executive John Martin had been talking for several months about a restructuring plan called Turner 2020.  The profitability of Turner, a branch of media conglomerate Time Warner, is under close scrutiny after it spurned a takeover bid earlier this year by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

The company also owns The Cartoon Network, HLN, Tru TV and Turner Classic Movies.

Turner management, in a letter to employees sought to explain the buyout offer yesterday, saying it was identifying cost savings and shifting spending to high-growth areas. Though the staff pruning would be "strictly voluntary," the letter noted that "Turner will also undertake additional reductions in staffing."

About 600 of the company's 9,000 employees are eligible for the buyout, Daily News reported.

According to company officials the loss of staff was part of Turner's expected corporate restructuring and would help the company focus on ''programming, monetisation and innovation'' and ''shifting capital allocations to high-growth areas where investment will drive growth and profitability.''