​Al Jazeera TV to cut a thousand jobs worldwide

The Qatari emir, who owns Al Jazeera television, has decided to cut an estimated 800-1,000 jobs – almost one quarter of the station’s total workforce – directly after the Eid festival at the end of the week. The cutbacks are explained by falling oil and gas prices and the investment of more than $600m on launching Al-Jazeera in America two years ago.
According to DEBKAfile;s sources, the emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is in fact motivated by a wish to lower the network’s religious-political profile which has put a strain on Qatar’s relations in Riyadh and Cairo.