Two more long-term senior executives at Sony Music Australia have now permanently left the business as the ongoing investigation continues into allegations that the major's Australian division has a toxic corporate culture.
Sony Music confirmed that investigation was underway in June following the sudden departure of the boss of its Australian division, Denis Handlin, who had run said division for decades. At the same time The Guardian ran an article in which more than 20 former employees of Sony Music Australia described a workplace culture that wasn't fit for purpose.
Allegations made in the article included sexual harassment at work events, intimidating behaviour, alcohol abuse and the unfair treatment of women within the company. Handlin himself was not accused of harassment, however many of the interviewees were critical of the outgoing CEO for overseeing such a toxic working environment.
Soon after Handlin's sudden departure, it emerged that his son Pat - who was a VP of A&R at the major - and Senior Vice President Mark Stebnicki had both been put on indefinite leave. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, a spokesperson at Sony Music's global HQ in the US has now confirmed that both Handlin Junior - who had a stint at Sony's Syco label in the UK a few years back - and Stebnicki have now permanently left the company.
No official reason for the two men's departure has been given. Though, like Handlin Senior, neither of the departing execs has been publicly accused of harassment themselves. The Sony spokesperson confirmed that the internal investigation into the workplace culture of its Australian division is ongoing. As yet no replacement for Handlin Senior in the CEO role has been announced.
Last week it emerged that Universal Music has also begun an investigation into the workplace culture of its Australian business after a number of issues were raised by employees there as well, initially via a social media account.