• by Wayne Friedman , February 13, 2007

Viacom Inc. announced it is laying off hundreds of employees--adding to the list of other major media companies that are doing similar restructurings.

Yesterday, the company began the process of trimming 250 employees across its MTV Networks. MTV Networks chairman and COO Judith McGrath announced the plans to staff in an e-mailed memo Monday morning.

The move is not unexpected.

New Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman warned the investor community a few months ago that financial cuts would be made to keep profit margins in line and to beef up digital ops.

Dauman replaced Viacom chief Tom Freston last September. In January MTV Network president and COO Michael Wolf also left the company; the consultant had been on the job barely a year.

"You get good times; you get bad times. You cut costs when you start slowing down. He pretty much signaled that," says Dennis McAlpine, managing director of McAlpine Associates.

MTV divisions affected include staffers from Music and Logo; Kids and Family; Entertainment; International; and Sales and Strategic Services.

Viacom isn't the first media company to make major cuts. Last fall, as part of its NBC 2.0 plan, NBC Universal began the painful process of cost-cutting. In October, NBC Universal began letting go 700 employees.

Earlier last year, Walt Disney Co. said it would cut back an unspecified number of employees. Executives speculated that those cutbacks could be 5% to 10% of its workforce.

Said McGrath: "Our industry is at an inflection point, and many companies are going through the process of adapting their business models and organizations to the new realities."