Hong Kong's biggest subscription TV channel i-Cable laid off dozens of news department workers Tuesday, including the entire team behind award-winning investigative show 'News Lancet.'
Reporters, camera operators and production crew members lost their jobs in the mass firing, which comes only months after Hong Kong police raided the i-Cable newsroom.
The layoffs decimated hard-hitting Cantonese-language program News Lancet, which counted its entire staff among the people forced to leave. Produced in weekly segments, the popular show took a deep dive into daily Hong Kong news topics ranging from social issues to financial matters.
But News Lancet's coverage of the pro-democracy movement frequently drew the ire of the city's pro-establishment community and made it a target in August for a police raid on its offices.
"Why fire the entire News Lancet Team?" one i-Cable staff member was heard asking management in a video posted to social media Tuesday.
Staff in other departments were also affected - one local broadcaster caught an i-Cable camera operator for the Hong Kong desk receiving his letter of termination during a news conference livestream.
The unexpected news is a blow to the channel's 300-strong workforce. Staff are calling the timing and scale of the layoffs "cruel" and demand answers from the channel's management team, which has remained silent.
In a show of solidarity, the head of i-Cable's China news division announced the entire section team would be resigning after hearing that an assistant editor was among those let go. "Thank you for your support," the team wrote in a post to Facebook.
Likewise, the assignment editors for the international, Hong Kong and financial divisions also announced they would resign Tuesday afternoon.
Viewers reacted strongly to the news with hundreds of comments on i-Cable's social media pages cataloguing their anger and disappointment.
But is just the latest in a series of tumultuous management changes to hit i-Cable this year. In August, more than 200 staff signed a petition protesting the sudden firing of three longtime senior engineering staff to "cut costs."
