NDTV plans cost cutting

In an e-mail to employees, NDTV promoters Radhika and Prannoy Roy said the company needed to cut flab and control costs. "…this is the time to streamline our operations, excise any flab that the system may have gained in the boom times and return to being a lean, tough, strong, efficient and compassionate organisation," they said.

The company has frozen recruitments. Its senior management has apparently volunteered to take a 20 per cent cut in salaries for the year 2009.

"Our salary costs are already far too high - higher than our counterparts in the industry. There is, you will agree, substantial flab too at NDTV…" the email stated.

The travel and telephone bills are a very large part of NDTV's expenditure. A company source said the company spent nearly Rs 6 crore (Rs 60 million) a month as expenditure on taxis, which is now under the scanner.

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