Wed Sep 18 01:30:00 UTC 2024: ## RTÉ Staff Numbers Remain Static Despite Redundancy Programmes and Hiring Freeze
**Dublin, Ireland** – Despite a hiring freeze announced last September and a series of redundancy programmes, RTÉ’s staff numbers have remained virtually unchanged over the past five years, according to the broadcaster’s newly published annual report.
The average number of employees in 2023 was 1,852, up from 1,817 in 2022. While the total headcount decreased slightly by year-end to 1,836, the full-time equivalent (FTE) headcount remained virtually identical to the previous year.
The report highlights the lack of progress in reducing the workforce, despite a voluntary exit programme in 2021 and a new plan to reduce staff numbers by up to 400 through another voluntary redundancy scheme. This new scheme, aimed at achieving 40 redundancies this year, would cost €50 million.
Despite the hiring freeze, which restricts recruitment to “business-critical” roles, RTÉ has continued to advertise vacancies, including a deputy editor for “Upfront with Katie Hannon” and a regional production engineer.
The report also reveals that RTÉ’s wage bill increased last year, partly due to a trade union agreement that added €9.8 million to personnel-related costs. The total pay bill, including pension and social welfare contributions, reached €156.9 million. Staff travel and subsistence costs also increased to €3.35 million.
Overall, RTÉ reported a net deficit of €9.1 million, attributed to the collapse in public payment of the TV licence fee following the Ryan Tubridy secret payments controversy and an increase in operating costs.
Sales of the RTÉ Guide decreased by 7.6% year-on-year, in line with an estimated market decline of 8%. The magazine’s total sales reached 1.53 million copies, including a 6% decrease in sales of the Christmas issue. Advertising revenue in the Guide also declined, reflecting challenges in the magazine advertising market.
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