Greek state TV, radio broadcasts going off the air
Greek government to close 'wasteful' state broadcaster to save money, axing 2,500 jobs
People stand in front of the Greek state television ERT headquarters after the government's announcement that it will shut down the broadcaster in Athens, on Tuesday, June 11, 2013. Greece is to close down all its state-run TV and radio stations with the loss of some 2,500 jobs as part of its cost-cutting drive demanded by the bailed-out country’s international creditors. Tuesday’s move heralds the first direct public sector layoffs in more than three years of painful austerity, which have cost about a million private sector jobs. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Greek state TV and radio have begun going off the air, hours after the government said it would temporarily close all state-run broadcasts, with the loss of about 2,500 job cuts, as part of its cost-cutting drive.
Hellenic Broadcasting Corp., or ERT, broadcasts went dead in several areas Tuesday, less than an hour before midnight, when the government said all signals would end.
It said ERT has been formally disbanded, and authorities would "secure" the corporation's facilities.
The government said the company will reopen "as soon as possible" with a smaller workforce. It wasn't clear how long that would take, and whether all stations would reopen.
The move heralds the first direct public sector layoffs in more than three years of painful austerity demanded by the bailed-out nation's international creditors
