Layoffs at Le Soir highlight deepening crisis in Belgian media
The French-language newspaper Le Soir dismissed four employees on Tuesday, most of whom had been working for the paper for more than 25 years. The layoffs are the latest illustration of the economic difficulties facing the Belgian media sector.
Le Soir is not an isolated case: the entire French-speaking media landscape is under pressure. News and television channels BX1, TV Lux and LN24 have also recently announced layoffs, while RTL and RTBF ended their collaboration with dozens of freelance journalists not long ago.
The situation is similar in Flanders. After letting go of more than a dozen employees in 2025, publisher Mediahuis announced a temporary collective wage reduction of 2.78 percent for 2026, with six additional days of leave as compensation.
In November, BRUZZ announced the dismissal of four full-time employees due to budget cuts by the Flemish government. It was also forced to reduce the number of opportunities for freelancers and to discontinue its cultural magazine BRUZZ Select. And in early 2025, publisher DPG Media also laid off nine staff members at Het Laatste Nieuws.
Rising costs, lower revenues
Several factors are contributing to the sector’s difficulties. One is the end of federal subsidies for newspaper distribution via bpost. Distribution has largely been taken over by private companies PPP and AMP, leading to higher costs for publishers and weaker delivery services for subscribers.
Media companies are also losing advertising revenue due to intense competition from American technology giants such as Meta and Google. As more readers shift to digital news consumption, advertisers increasingly opt for the established platforms of these international companies, further reducing publishers’ income.
The result is a steadily shrinking diversity in the media landscape, with many outlets now falling under a limited number of large media groups. This development also reduces opportunities for freelance journalists, who often do not have a reliable source of income. According to the Flemish Association of Journalists (VVJ), one in four recognised professional journalists and trainees currently works as a freelancer.
That share is at risk of increasing further as the federal government expands its flexi-job system, which allows employees and retirees to earn additional income. "Flexi-jobs in journalism will only reinforce this downward spiral," VVJ warns. "They threaten to undermine regular jobs and open the door to even more precarious forms of employment, at a time when the sector is in dire need of stability and recognition."
© BELGA PHOTO VIRGINIE LEFOUR
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