Nine women and just one man are among the redundancies of on-air talent in Seven’s Sydney and Melbourne newsrooms that have been publicly identified in the company’s latest round of job cuts.
Southern Cross Media, which owns the television network, announced between 250 and 300 job cuts last week, noting that market conditions had deteriorated more quickly than anticipated.
Although the cuts are being felt across the business among on-air talent who have been spared in part from past redundancy rounds, it is largely women who have publicly identified themselves as departing in that section of the business.
Across the Sydney and Melbourne newsrooms, nine have been made redundant. Just one male reporter, veteran journalist Chris Maher, has been forced out.
Among those leaving the business are Sydney-based reporters Brianna Jackson, Amy Clements and Phoebe Worthley, and Melbourne-based Rochelle Brown. Natarsha Belling, hired last year to present the national news at noon, is also out.
Reporters Estelle Griepink (who is also on maternity leave), Grace Fitzgibbon and Inga Neilsen took voluntary redundancies.
“Being made redundant on mat leave was not on my 2026 bingo card … but all the greatest things that have happened in my career have come after setbacks – so I know the best is yet to come,” Seven Melbourne presenter Bethan Yeoman wrote on Instagram last week.
“It’s the people who make this job so special … and I’m just so grateful for all the amazing journos and cameramen I’ve worked so closely with over the years.”
Griepink wrote on Instagram that “There is NO job like TV news and I leave with stories to last a lifetime – but I’m so excited about the new chapter and can’t wait to spend more time with my babies.”
Other Seven staff who are leaving include senior sports producer Nick Markham and cameraman Scott Lipman. All either declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment.
A Southern Cross spokesperson declined to comment on questions about the gender breakdown of staff made redundant, and pointed this masthead to the company’s ASX announcement last week about the scope of its operating review.
In a message to staff on Thursday morning, Southern Cross chief executive Rohan Lund said the decisions had not been made lightly.
“This transformation involves making incredibly tough choices regarding our team structures, and we will be saying goodbye to many smart, talented and hard-working colleagues who have played a vital role in building both businesses,” Lund said.
But some Seven staff felt that last week’s cuts had been handled in a chaotic and haphazard manner, leading to a sense of panic around the newsrooms. The company has suffered major upheaval since it merged with Southern Cross, leading to the departure of both its previous chief executive and chair.
Many affected journalists were informed of their redundancies over the phone just hours after this masthead revealed impending job cuts at the company.
Worthley revealed she had been made redundant through a TikTok video of her crying in a car to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida.
“Reminder to love every moment in your dream job because you could be made redundant at 4.48 on a random Thursday,” the video said.
The decision to axe Yeoman while on maternity leave also alarmed some staff.
Penny Parker, a senior associate at employment law firm Maurice Blackburn, said she had often seen women made redundant while on parental leave.
“Employers are really prone to having a view of ‘out of sight, out of mind’,” Parker said. “It’s really common and particularly devastating for women trying to transition back into the workplace.”
While the Fair Work Act makes it unlawful to terminate a worker’s employment because they have taken parental leave, this is difficult to establish in practice.
Nine, owner of this masthead, has also made a number of staff redundant in its TV division this year. It is defending a legal claim from one presenter who claimed Nine’s decision to axe her job was motivated by a combination of her age and gender.
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Kishor Napier-Raman is a senior business writer for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Previously he worked as a CBD columnist and reporter in the federal parliamentary press gallery.Connect via X or email.
