Sahara One axes 17 jobs & a further 19 to follow

Troubled media outlet, Sahara One Media and Entertainment has axed 17 senior employees, with another 18 jobs being laid off in the coming weeks, reports suggest.

Indian Television reports that the company employs around 150 individuals, however this number will reduce significantly as it faces financial issues. The report adds that Sahara management is resorting to downsizing as it is readying to hand over the running of its channels to Entertainment Hub.

Indian Television has listed some of the employees who have been asked to leave: Delna Deshpande (operations head), Sharad Raj (programming head and creative), Rajeev Berry (head of revenue), Bakulish Baggade part of the distribution team), Piyush Ratnu (head of IT & digital), Kailashnath Koppikar (programming and international syndication), Ashish Mathur and Saroj Jha (ad sales), and Baludutt Papne (commercial executive).

Sahara Group’s founder Subrata Roy has a non-bailable arrest warrant issued against him by the Supreme Court for failing to turn up for a hearing before it on Wednesday in connection with contempt proceedings against two group firms.

In the UK, Sahara One ceased broadcasting last August due to poor ratings and the competitive free-to-air market.