April 28 (Bloomberg) -- Clear Channel Communications Inc. cut 590 jobs in its radio division and suspended its 401(k) employee-matching program as part of a restructuring.
Including today’s reduction, the largest U.S. radio broadcaster has cut its workforce by 12 percent this year, spokeswoman Michele Clarke said in a telephone interview. The San Antonio-based company slashed 1,850 positions at its corporate, radio and outdoor units in January.
The latest round will take place in engineering, information technology, and programming. If the company makes 90 percent of its budget goals by year end, Clear Channel will retroactively restore the 401(K) match, Clarke said.
The recession has forced U.S. companies to cut marketing budgets, reducing advertising spending on terrestrial radio. In a preliminary filing earlier this month, Clear Channel’s parent, CC Media Holdings Inc., said first-quarter revenue declined 23 percent to $1.2 billion.
Private-equity firms Bain Capital Partners LLC and THL completed their buyout of Clear Channel in July, almost two years after first agreeing to buy the company.
Radio advertising spending in the U.S. is forecast to fall to $8.7 billion this year from an estimated $9.9 billion in 2008, according to GroupM, an ad buying firm.
CC Media Holdings, which trades over the counter, will report full earnings results on May 11.
To contact the reporter on this story: James Callan in New York
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