On its website, REA Group spruiks the advantages of working for the NewsCorp-controlled business.

A senior marketing manager (pictured) is quoted that she feels “so lucky” that she gets to do “interesting and challenging work while working alongside some incredibly talented people”.

But the Australian Financial Review – owned by rival media company Nine Entertainment, which also controls real estate rival Domain – tells another side of the story.

Reporter Mark Di Stefano says REA workers have been asked to “go into negative leave” to help reduce its costs. Offices will close for a day in April in order to force staff to take more of their leave entitlement, he says.

NewsCorp owns 61 per cent of the ASX-listed company, which owns realestate.com.au. Despite Indian operations “performing well”, the group has announced that profits fell nine per cent in the last three months of 2022, mostly as a result of a substantial decline in property listings.

Chief people and sustainability officer Mary Lemonis said the challenging market conditions meant they had to look at “all avenues” to manage costs, with increasing the total annual leave days taken one way of doing this.

While REA would not be cutting its headcount, as other News units expect to do, natural attrition is to bring down employee numbers.