City7 cuts 90 jobs in Dubai

The owner of City7, an English language TV station in Dubai, confirmed on Monday that 90 jobs have been lost, adding that there will be more emphasis on news and information in the future.

Mohi-Din Binhendi, president of Bin Hendi Enterprises, denied media reports last week that City7’s remaining 50 employees would have to take a 20 percent pay cut.

He said the layoffs were a direct consequence of the economic downturn and denied that City7’s programming had failed to gain traction with Dubai viewers.

“It takes time to build a TV station,” Binhendi, who took over the station two years ago, told Arabian Business.

“Everybody is cutting their expenses right now.”

While declining to elaborate on what the station’s content would look like in the future, Binhendi did signal that there would be a change in direction for the troubled channel later this year.

From Arabian Business