Greek state TV, radio broadcasts going off the air

ATHENS — Greek state TV and radio have begun going off the air, hours after the government said it would temporarily close all state-run broadcasts, with the loss of about 2,500 job cuts, as part of its cost-cutting drive.

Hellenic Broadcasting Corp., or ERT, broadcasts went dead in several areas yesterday, less than an hour before midnight, when the government said all signals would end.

It said ERT has been formally disbanded, and authorities would "secure" the corporation's facilities.

The government said the company will reopen "as soon as possible" with a smaller workforce. It wasn't clear how long that would take, and whether all stations would reopen.

The move heralds the first direct public sector layoffs in more than three years of painful austerity demanded by the bailed-out nation's international creditors