Asia Television Limited, or ATV, one of the free-to-air broadcasters in Hong Kong, announced on Thursday it was sacking 207 employees due to financial difficulties amid the global economic downturn.

In a letter circulated to staff, ATV Executive Chairman Linus Cheung said the decision came after a review of the company's corporate structure.

Cheung said that it was "a difficult decision" but the company had lost billions of HK dollars (7.8 HK dollars = 1 US dollar) over the past years, leading to pressure on the company's shareholders.

The company was facing severe challenges to keep operating as normal following the unraveling of the global financial turmoil, and decisive actions were needed to save the company, he said.

Local media reports said the job cuts included staff members of the TV station's news department such as editors, directors and part-time employees.

Some of the sacked staff members were seen leaving the office building of the TV station, as reporters gathered outside to interview people from ATV.

One of the sacked staff members said he was not surprised by the job cuts.

ATV is one of the three major television stations in Hong Kong. It operates a 24-hour Home channel and a 22-hour world channel in English. It also offers paid TV programs in North America, with quite a viewers group in the Chinese community.

It had a headcount of about 900 before the lay-offs.

The job cuts followed the dismissal of 63 employees three months earlier by ATV. It said it had to cut the jobs to reduce costs amid the global financial tsunami.

The Labor and Welfare Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said it believed ATV had made the decision after due consideration, adding that it has set up a hotline to assist those who have been sacked.

Some companies in Hong Kong were running into financial difficulties recently amid the current global economic downturn, often leading to job cuts. News reports of potential lay-offs by certain large enterprises, though unconfirmed by the companies in question, even sparked protests.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2009)