PETALING JAYA: Utusan Malaysia has to consider a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) as part of its restructuring exercise, said its group managing director Datuk Mohd Noordin Abbas.

“I feel Utusan cannot escape the reality, which is the fact that a VSS must be conducted, as well as an overall cost-cutting measure.

“This is to prevent future situations where the company suffers losses amounting to millions each month,” he said during the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday (June 6).

He also said the measure would help Utusan to “rebuild from scratch” and therefore must be seriously considered as part of the company’s future.

During the AGM, Noordin said the exercise will likely reduce the work force by 50 percent from 1,400 staff, but added that the company needed to find the funds first.

Meanwhile, Utusan chief editor Datuk Abdul Aziz Ishak admitted it was late in taking the VSS step, considering some other media outlets had conducted similar exercises in recent times.

“Utusan is overly concerned with its staff welfare, but the situation demands that we do something that we may not have considered before,” he said.

Previously, it was reported that the top management of Kumpulan Utusan Melayu, the company which publishes the newspaper, had informed staff that major restructuring was being planned.