Nine to axe 30 jobs at the Age and SMH due to ‘extreme’ AI disruption
Australia's largest locally owned media company, Nine Entertainment, is cutting around 30 newsroom jobs at the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age, blaming what it called an "extreme state of disruption" caused by artificial intelligence. Publishing managing director Tory Maguire told staff on Tuesday the cuts, a mix of voluntary and targeted redundancies, were not merely cost-cutting but an "evolution" needed to adapt to structural change in the industry, with plans to retrain and hire for "digital-first, reader-savvy, data-informed roles".
The move follows earlier cuts of 200 jobs two years ago, including 90 from the legacy mastheads and the Australian Financial Review, which will not be affected this time as it is considered more digitally evolved, having run a paywall since 2007. Maguire pointed to research showing AI chatbots and search summaries are reshaping how people consume news, with Nine's digital subscription revenue down 6% last year and reader revenue stalling for the first time in three years. She said AI had disrupted the business more than the internet or social media had.
In short
- Nine Entertainment to cut about 30 jobs at SMH and the Age
- Company blames AI disruption for falling reader revenue and traffic
- Follows 200 job cuts two years earlier; AFR unaffected this round
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The traditional news organisation model is becoming economically unviable due to AI-driven disruption of how people access information. With digital subscription revenue down 6% and reader revenue stalling, Nine must adapt structurally or face eventual collapse. Retraining staff for digital-first, data-driven journalism whilst retaining core capacity represents a necessary evolution, as evidenced by the AFR's successful early digital transition.
The case against
These cuts reduce newsroom capacity at a critical moment when independent journalism is essential to counter misinformation and hold power accountable. The 'evolution' narrative obscures that AI companies profit from journalistic content without compensation, whilst Nine simply reduces its own journalists. Fewer reporters cannot maintain the same investigative quality or serve journalism's democratic function, and repeated cuts suggest long-term strategic decline rather than genuine adaptation.
Explained simply
Nine Entertainment, Australia's largest locally-owned media company, is cutting around 30 newsroom jobs at the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age. The company attributes this to artificial intelligence causing what it calls an "extreme state of disruption" in the news industry.
AI-powered tools like chatbots and search summaries are changing how people access news. Nine's digital subscription revenue declined 6% last year, and the company argues that AI has been more disruptive to its business than the internet or social media were.
These cuts represent the second round of significant job losses at Nine's news operations in two years. The company plans to shift towards roles centred on digital publishing, data analytics and reader engagement rather than traditional newsroom work.
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