Denmark: hundreds wildcat at public broadcaster

DR
DR

Hundreds of employees at Denmark's public broadcaster walked out in a wildcat strike yesterday against plans to cut over 10% of the workforce.

Submitted by Joseph Kay on March 15, 2007

Denmark's public broadcaster announced on Tuesday that it will cut 300 jobs — from a workforce of 2,600 — as part of a cost-cutting package prompted by overruns in the construction of its new headquarters. It is not clear how many workers were involved in the action.

The Danish Broadcasting Corporation, known as DR, operates two TV channels and four national FM radio stations and is seeking to make cuts of 300 million kroner (£26m) a year to compensate for cost-overruns at their new headquarters in Copenhagen.

Costs for the construction have reached 4.7 billion kroner (£450m), 1.7 billion kroner (£160m) over budget. In 2005 DR laid off 100 workers on account of the first budget overrun of the new headquarters.

Created in 1925, DR is an independent company financed by viewers' license fees.

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