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03/28/2024 12:39:56 pm

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Staff Association Protests Against TVB for Layoffs; Eric Tsang and Alan Tam Comments About TVB Staff Layoffs

Following the news that TVB fired 50 employees despite great gains in financial profits, members of the TVB Staff Association showed their protest outside the station headquarters by wearing black-colored clothing last September 25 while some celebrities expressed their disappointment on the issue.

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According to media reports, TVB has lost a great sum of money, thus their decision to lay off 50 of their staff. However, some people have commented that these loss rumors are not true and that TVB has gotten a lot of money for the first half of 2014.

One of the celebrities who commented about the layoffs happening in TVB is Alan Tam. The actor said that he was not sure of what was really happening, but it has been rumored that the company lost a great deal of money after covering the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.

However, Tam, who was a part of the World Cup coverage, refuted these claims, saying that he, along with the other artists who went to Brazil with him, paid for their air fares. "We didn't use too much of TVB's money," says Tam.

The actor also related that after TVB learned that he was going to have a concert in Australia, the company invited him to participate in a traveling program with actor Nat Chan, but claimed that he wasn't paid for his appearance.

Tam stated that TVB wanted to add more appeal to the show, but they did not pay him. The actor added, "Maybe they'll give me a TVBuddy doll, but I have plenty of those at home."

Tam said he finds it ridiculous that TVB should fire staff members when they have earned HK$700 million in profits, saying that there is something going on behind the scenes in TVB.

On the other hand, Eric Tsang also made his comments about TVB's issues. He, along with 'Line Walker' star Michael Miu showed their support, saying that they do not wish to see another round of staff layoffs.

The actor revealed that TVB hired more than 100 new staff members earlier in the year and questioned why they are firing 50 people now.

"If you got sick, you're fired. If you're retiring next year, you're fired," Tsang said. "Why won't TVB just switch them to a different department?"

Tsang also confessed that he missed the time when TVB was run by the late Sir Run Run Shaw.

The actor said that the new TVB executives did not spend years together with the artists and the staff, thus their ease to lay people off at whim. He also added that the company's decision to fire people is not motivated by financial issues.

Lastly, Michael Miu stated that TVB is just being heartless.

Despite the protests, TVB has not released any official statement either to defend the company for their decision or to confirm whether the cause of the layoffs is because of financial issues or not.

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