Miami Beach based media company faces legal scrutiny
By Pankaj Ladhar of Manos • Alwine P.L.
Plum TV, the Miami Beach based media enterprise laid off the majority of its staff on Tuesday and now faces questions about its financial affairs. The company moved its headquarters from New York to Miami Beach last year under the leadership of its chief executive. That chief executive resigned just five days before the massive layoffs.
The former chief executive explained to the Miami Herald that last Thursday he realized that the company had insufficient assets to cover payroll, sales commissions and other important expenses. The New York Department of Labor recently issued subpoenas for the company’s financial records. It is possible that employment litigation related to the recent revelations about the company will be following soon.
Plum TV was created to provide ‘hyper local’ television programming in areas considered luxury vacation markets. Besides broadcasting in Miami Beach, they also provided programming in Vail, Aspen, Sun Valley, and the Hamptons. There had been plans in the works to try to expand the company into a full-fledged multi-media brand including print publications, online content, and live events. The recent cutbacks included a suspension of the newly launched Plum Miami Magazine.
The former executive estimated that as many as 70 employees were laid off. The company had previously employed 85 people.
While the company intends to attempt to keep moving forward, it appears that their first priority will be to manage and mitigate their current financial and employment relations issues.
Source: Miami Herald, “Plum TV announces layoffs,” Ina Paiva Cordle, Sept. 14, 2011