Evening Standard staff shaky after Lebedev takeover

03 February 2009

After the recent takeover of London's Evening Standard by Russian billionaire and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev and a subsequent change of editors, its employees fear a round of layoffs, as the newspaper industry reels under the recession.

On 21 January it was announced that Lebedev had bought a 74.9-per cent stake in the newspaper from its previous owners, Daily Mail & General Trust, for a nominal sum, reported to be as little as one pound. DMGT, which also owns the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, will continue to hold a 25.1-per cent stake in the Standard. (See: Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev buys London's Evening Standard newspaper)

The change in ownership has been accompanied with a change of editors. Tatler's Geordie Greig is slated to take over from Veronica Wadely, who has already resigned after seven years as editor of the Evening Standard. She leaves the paper with an average net circulation of 294,337 for the six months July to December 2008, up 3.04 per cent on the same period in 2007.

Wadely is believed to have been kept in the dark about the impending deal, and has not attended office since it was announced. Greig's appointment, however, is contingent on the sale being completed this month. Meanwhile the paper is being edited by Andrew Burdiss, currently deputy editor. Wadley may remain with DMGT in a consultancy role.

Lebedev and his son Evgeny have set up a new company, Evening Standard Ltd, to run the newspaper. The Russian oligarch has not confirmed job cuts or redundancy terms, and sources close to him say that speculations about redundancy terms are no more than scare stories.

Nonetheless, Standard journalists believe he will offer far less generous terms than those typically granted by DMGT. There have been reports of a cap of £12,000 on the amount payable to an employee. They also fear their new owners will insist that staff see out their contracts. Most companies allow workers to leave immediately, with their notice period paid in full.