Nine stars ‘ticked off’ after 60 Minutes forces staff to fly economy as network tightens the belt – but these celebrities are exempt from the new rule

Channel Nine has further tightened the belt after the network’s latest redundancies bloodbath.

The staff of the network’s flagship news program 60 Minutes have been told they are to only fly economy class during work trips, per The Australian.

Employees of the show are ‘ticked off’ about the new mandate, according to the publication’s sources. 

‘The news was not well received,’ according to the report.

However two high profile names on the weekly news program are said to be exempt from the new rule, with Liz Hayes and Tara Brown not asked to fly economy. 

Hayes, Brown, Tom Steinfort, Nick McKenize and Amelia Adams are the program’s current presenters. 

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Nine for comment. 

The latest blow to Nine staff comes less than a week after the network launched into another round of layoffs.

Nine Entertainment’s publishing arm accepted 85 voluntary redundancies across the Australian Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAtoday and Brisbane Times, just weeks after hundreds of jobs were cut.

A number of veteran journalists and editors are among the voluntary redundancies. 

They include AFR senior correspondent Aaron Patrick, the SMH’s chief sports writer Andrew Webster, the Herald’s former gossip columnist Andrew Hornery, and The Age’s culture editor Osman Faruqi, The Australian reported.

However two high profile names on the weekly news program are said to be exempt from the new ‘economy only’ rule, with Liz Hayes and Tara Brown not asked to fly economy. Both pictured this month

The business has also announced plans to axe as many as 40 jobs at Pedestrian – about half of the workforce.

The Sydney Morning Herald understands that the company’s more niche publications are not expecting to survive the cut and will leave most if not all staff redundant.

A spokesperson for the network revealed that affected staff in newsrooms, print operations and audience and commercial growth divisions will depart in the coming months.

‘As foreshadowed in June, we have been working with our people in reshaping the publishing business to ensure a sustainable future in response to the challenging advertising market and collapse of the Meta deal,’ the spokesperson said.

The latest blow to Nine staff comes less than a week after the network launched into another round of layoffs (pictured, Melbourne headquarters)

‘We will be providing support for all employees transitioning from the business. 

‘Every one of these people depart with our gratitude and appreciation for their contributions to Nine’s world-class mastheads.’ 

The layoffs are part of a $30million cost-cutting plan for the media giant which involves around 200 of 5,000 total jobs being cut. 

The decision led to the boss of the Pedestrian Group announced his departure alongside plans to cut deals with Vice, Refinery29, Gizmodo, Lifehacker and Kotaku. 

Around 500 journalists nationwide went on a five-day strike on the eve of the Paris Olympics demanding better pay and conditions.  

Nine publishing director Tory Maguire, who heads up The Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times and WAtoday, in June said the end of the deal with Meta had also hurt the publishing side of the business.

‘This week … the deal with Meta is over and the significant revenue incoming under that deal has ceased,’ she said.

‘While we are encouraged by our constructive conversations with the federal government about enforcing the code, the only thing currently certain is that we don’t have an ongoing deal with Meta.

‘The advertising market remains very challenging and while the publishing and sales teams are working together on a range of new initiatives our forecast for FY25 is reflective of the market outlook.’

The previous staff cuts and a proposed 10.5 per cent pay increase over three years lead to the Nine’s heavily unionised workforce into a strike for the first five days of the Olympics.

Editorial staff walked back into newsrooms around the country after higher-ups agreed to one per cent extra increase in pay and among demands.

Those included ethical use of artificial intelligence, a commitment to report on workplace diversity and agreeing to negotiations for a fair deal to freelancers.

Nine’s cutback announcement also came in the same week about 150 staff were let go by Seven West Media in a major round of redundancies, with three senior executives all leaving the company.