Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi
TVNZ expects to save $5.6 million from the 48.5 full time jobs slashed late last year - and another $3.3 million by not replacing vacant roles -according to data released under the Official Information Act.
The state-owned broadcaster has been striving to save $30 million by the end of the 2026 financial year - and says it is forecasting to meet that target.
The job cuts were confirmed in November, six months after another restructure and the end of the consumer affairs programme Fair Go, current affairs programme Sunday, and the midday and late night news bulletins.
On Tuesday TVNZ said consultation was underway with some Shortland Street staff about possible job cuts.
All the staff made redundant in November have now left the organisation.
The OIA data shows those job cuts came with upfront costs.
At the time the 48.5 roles were axed, TVNZ paid more than $16,000 in legal fees and about $3.1 million in redundancy pay.
E tū union negotiation specialist Michael Wood said the shift had also resulted in "very negative" morale among remaining staff - and higher workloads.
"Teams have been reduced from five people to three people and there's still a lot of work to be done. And there are higher workloads that people face as a result of that," he said.
"That is certainly something that we do see with our members and that we we try and address with TVNZ."
As well as cutting down on labour costs, TVNZ is also been working to meet its $30 million goal by increasing its revenue and reduce its content expenses.
Wood said he was optimistic that TVNZ would be able to to grow its profits.
"We are now seeing some signs, across the media, off things beginning to move out of the worst of the financial conditions that we saw in 2024. This really needs to be a time of some stability and consolidation and TVNZ needs to start investing in the kind of New Zealand content that will generate interest in loyalty and revenue from New Zealanders in the year years ahead," he said.
However, Wood said some staff were worried about a proposal to outsource some content workflow and technology work from FY26 onwards.
TVNZ declined to provide further details of that outsourcing to RNZ, saying it "hasn't gone through the detailed design phase".
Wood felt it was a "fallacy" that outsourcing could produce sustainable savings.
"There is potentially a significant loss of control, and a loss of quality in terms of what is produced. And that's a real concern to people who work at TVNZ," he said.
In a statement, a TVNZ spokesperson said the broadcaster had been upfront with staff about any changes and would continue to do so.
TVNZ is forecasting to meet its $30 million target by the end of FY26, the spokesperson said, through a mix of improved revenue, reduced content costs and reduced labour costs.
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