Kenya's Mediamax Announces Sixth Round of Layoffs

17 July 2025
Daba Finance (Abidjan)

TLDR

  • Mediamax Network Ltd., the parent company of K24 TV and People Daily, has announced another round of job cuts, marking its sixth retrenchment in four years
  • CEO Ken Ngaruiya cited shifting consumer habits, digital disruption, and what he termed "punitive government regulations" as reasons for the restructuring
  • Laid-off staff will receive salaries for days worked, pay in lieu of notice, accrued leave, and severance equal to 15 days per completed year of service, minus any outstanding debts

Mediamax Network Ltd., the parent company of K24 TV and People Daily, has announced another round of job cuts, marking its sixth retrenchment in four years. The company did not disclose the number of affected employees.

In an internal memo, CEO Ken Ngaruiya cited shifting consumer habits, digital disruption, and what he termed "punitive government regulations" as reasons for the restructuring. He added that falling sales and a challenging macroeconomic environment had forced the company to review its operating model.

Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines

Laid-off staff will receive salaries for days worked, pay in lieu of notice, accrued leave, and severance equal to 15 days per completed year of service, minus any outstanding debts, TechCabal reported.

Mediamax joins other Kenyan media houses facing similar challenges. Nation Media Group cut 16 jobs in mid-2024, and Standard Group laid off more than 300 employees in August. Delayed payments from government advertisers and restricted betting ads have further strained revenues.

Daba is Africa's leading investment platform for private and public markets. Download here

Key Takeaways

Kenya's traditional media is undergoing structural decline. Over 500 journalists have lost their jobs in the past two years, as media companies struggle to adapt to shrinking print circulation, declining ad revenue, and digital disruption. Industry leaders cite delays in payments from national and county governments, restrictions on betting ads--a major source of revenue--and a government policy to centralize advertising through a single entity. These pressures mirror global trends, where legacy media is transitioning to digital-first models. However, in Kenya, the shift is compounded by regulatory and liquidity constraints. Without reforms to advertising policies and sustainable digital monetization, the trend of layoffs is likely to persist, weakening media diversity and access to independent journalism.

Read the original article on Daba Finance.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 Daba Finance. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.