SINGAPORE - Forty-five MediaCorp employees were affected by the media company's reorganisation exercise, the Singapore Union of Broadcasting Employees (SUBE) said in a statement on Thursday.

The union said 20 of the 45 affected employees are its members.

The 45 employees include the 33 who were retrenched and 12 who were offered jobs according to outsourcing agreements with the company's partners.

According to a Channel NewsAsia report on Thursday, another 50 MediaCorp employees were also redeployed.

SUBE said it was concerned by how the move would affect its members.

"The union will work closely with MediaCorp to ensure that all workers are treated fairly while rendering all possible assistance to help affected workers," the statement said.

The union said it has partnered Devan Nair Employment and Employability Institute to be on-site to help the affected employees.

It also urged MediaCorp to engage it early "if the company plans to undergo any further reorganisation".

According to Channel NewsAsia, the redeployed workers will be moved to "growth areas". MediaCorp recently overhauled its platform-based organisational structure to become more customer-centric.

MediaCorp chief executive Shaun Seow was quoted as saying in an internal memo that the company had been "unable to redeploy" the 33 workers it retrenched. He added that the decision to lay off the workers, who make up 1 per cent of the company's employee base, was not made lightly.

The move will lead to "a leaner, more collaborative organisation that is better equipped to innovate and stay relevant", he was quoted as saying, adding that the company will invest in areas like digital.

The retrenched workers will receive severance payments and outplacement support.