Spain's second daily newspaper (after El Pais) is not on newsstands today. It hasn't happened for 22 years, that is to say since the entire country blocked itself in protest against the government of Felipe Gonzales. Today, however, the motivation is internal: the journalists have decided to strike due to the business plan established by Unidad Editorial, the Spanish subsidiary of RCS MediaGroup, according to which 224 layoffs will be implemented, a number that corresponds to 20% of the workforce of the publications of the group, which also includes the sports newspaper Marca and the economic newspaper Expansion.
Going into detail, the program provides for the dismissal of 95 journalists from El mundo, of which 58 in the central editorial staff and 36 in the regional offices. The editorial offices located in the Basque Country, in Andalucia and in the Comunidad Valenciana will be dismantled, while the Catalan one is in the balance.
The closure of the weekly Actualidad Económica has also been established, while Radio Marca will be significantly downsized, sending 19 out of 32 editors home.
The unions also point out that the choice of top management came a few days after the announcement of Cairo Communications' Op for control of RCS Mediagroup, the result of which will be known in June. In this regard, however, it must be emphasized that RCS had already asked Unidad Editorial for a reduction in labor costs of 15 million euros.
