Update: MTV Networks will announce layoff details Monday, according to a Viacom insider. The source disputed the number in the NY Post report detailed below. “The number is closer to 250,” the source told me. MTV’s plans are expected to be announced by Monday afternoon.
————————-
MTV Networks might cut up to 500 jobs by next week as dictated from parent Viacom, the NY Post reported on Sunday. The layoff order is from Viacom’s trio of managers, Chairman Sumner Redstone, CEO Philippe Dauman and CFO Thomas Dooley. The Post cited several unnamed sources as saying the three have lost patience with the lagging performance of its most visible unit. The job cuts would be part of a $250 million cost-cutting move. Viacom heads have met with each of the business units within MTV over the past few weeks and asked them to identify where costs could be cut. The focus appears to be on the programming, marketing and finance groups as well as business development. In particular, MTV SVPs and EVPs are also being targeted. Viacom is also expected to close some international units as part of the initiative, according to this report.
The Post’s sources say that since Tom Freston was fired his post as CEO last summer, morale at MTVN has been dismal. Meanwhile Redstone seems to have taken a more visible role in managing the unit, which has had the unintended consequence of spurring even greater apathy among the staff. The same unnamed sources complained to the Post that MTV is too top-heavy with management, some who have been around as long as the channel has, which may be a reason why MTV got out-hipped in the digital revolution by YouTube, MySpace and others. The Post wrote that while Dauman has talked a good digital game, sources say he hasn’t done much beyond developing what Freston already put in place before he left.  The Post said representatives for MTV and Viacom were unavailable for comment.
Related:
—Industry Moves: Gambino Leaves Top Digital Post At MTV UK
—Another Senior MTVN Departure; Judy’s Letter To The Troops
—MTV Networks COO Michael Wolf Resigns; So Does Nicole Browning, President, Affiliate Sale
—Freston Severance Package Finalized, Detailed; Worth About $85 Million
—Judy McGrath Staying at MTV, Post Freston-Firing
—Breaking News: Freston Out As Viacom CEO; Replaced By Board Member Dauman