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Despite assurances from the heads of Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. that the mega-media merger announced last week won't produce massive layoffs, the two companies have many overlapping functions that are sure to lead to cutbacks and consolidation.
Hundreds of New York employees at the two companies are vulnerable, including those serving in corporate and administrative functions such as human resources, legal and accounting departments, public relations and computer services, say industry experts. The merged company may be able to save as much as $100 million on salaries and benefits,
Another obvious area of consolidation is CBSs Country Music Television and TNN cable networks, which will likely be folded into Viacom's cable operations, erasing jobs for the sales forces scattered in New York, Connecticut and Nashville.
"It's a sensitive issue. When you need regulatory approval, nobody likes to talk about how many people are going to lose their jobs," says Marvin Roffman, president of Roffman Miller Securities. "But when you have something this large, there are definitely people who get whacked."
The $37 billion deal, the largest media merger to date, has yet to be approved by the Department of Justice. If it is, the process of squeezing the two companies into one will almost certainly produce not onlycutbacks but also a clash of cultures. While company...