Greece will temporarily shut down all its state-run TV and radio stations, which will result in the loss of around 2,500 jobs as part of its cost-cutting drive demanded by the cash strapped country’s international creditors.

About 2,000 Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, or ERT employees, other media workers, anti-austerity activists, opposition lawmakers and union leaders gathered to protest at the company headquarters in an Athens suburb, after hearing the news.

The government said the company will reopen "as soon as possible" with a smaller workforce. It wasn’t immediately 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 measures, which have already cost nearly one million private sector jobs.

A leader from Greece’s main opposition party Syriza said it would be preferable if the government shut down the "troika" of international organisations that are insisting upon the current austerity measures.

Alex Tsipras, Head of Syriza, said, "The broadcasting signal of the public TV and radio broadcaster is a matter of democracy. Democracy can only be taken from us. They won’t achieve that. We call upon the Greek people to support the struggles of the workers at ERT. They should instead shut down the troika and the memorandum."