| Initiation of consultation procedure on employment reduction in Agora S.A.
Regulatory filing
The Management Board of Agora S.A. ("the Company") with its registered seat in Warsaw hereby informs that on October 4th, 2016 in accordance with the Act of March 13th, 2003 on Special Rules for Termination of Employment for Reasons Not Attributable to Employees, resolved to initiate the consultation on group layoffs with the trade unions operating at Agora S.A. Additionally, in accordance with the Act of April 7th, 2006 on informing and consulting employees, the Company's works council shall also be consulted on the group layoff process.
The reason for the planned restructuring measures, including restrictions on employment, is ongoing market recession visible in advertising expenditure and drop in press copy sales. Given the current state of printed press market, negative prospects of its further development and the progressive digitization of the media, the Company's Management Board found it necessary to undertake actions to accelerate the process of transformation of Agora’s press activity. Stabilization of financial results of the press activity requires deep changes in the editorial team model of conduct and all editions of "Gazeta Wyborcza", which involves the reduction of the employment in the Press segment and reorganization of the work of editorial teams. In the process of transformation of its press activity, the Company will focus on the development of "Gazeta Wyborcza" - while ceasing the publication of the free daily newspaper "Metrocafe.pl" on 14 October 2016.
The Management Board also reviewed other areas of activity in order to fit the structure of employment to the current needs of the Company.
The strategic objective of the Management Board of Agora is to stabilize the result of the press activity of the Company at profitable level and ensuring journalistic independence and financial security of "Gazeta Wyborcza", now and in the future. These changes are designed to enable the development of quality content prepared for both print and digital editions, as well as intensive development of digital content sales.
The intention of the Management Board of Agora SA is to lay off up to 135 employees of Agora SA (6.8% of employees in the Company as at October 3rd, 2016) until December 31st, 2016.
The Company shall go through these difficult changes in a thought out manner and with care for its employees offering the dismissed employees a range of protective and supportive initiatives.
The Management Board of the Company on October 4th, 2016, shall request the trade unions operating at the Company and the Company's works council to join in the consultation on collective redundancy process and shall provide the relevant Labor Office with information on the intention to execute group layoffs in the Company.
The Company shall publish a consecutive regulatory filing on collective redundancies after the required by law process of consultation with trade unions and works council operating at the Company is finalized.
Legal basis: article 17, paragraph 1 of the Regulation of the European Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No. 596/2014 of April 16th, 2014 on market abuse (Regulation on Market Abuse) and repealing Directive 2003/6 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and the Commission Directive 2003 / 124 / EC, 2003/125 / EC and 2004/72 / EC.
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