CNN to Lay Off Employees After Pressure from Parent Company to Cut Costs
CNN CEO Chris Licht has sent an email to employees this morning, notifying them that cuts will be made to staff in the coming days:
“Our people are the heart and soul of this organization. It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to any one member of the CNN team, much less many. I recently described this process as a gut punch, because i know that is how it feels for all of us.
Today we will notify a limited number of individuals, largely some of our paid contributors, as part of a recalibrated reporting strategy. Tomorrow, we will notify impacted employees, and tomorrow afternoon I will follow up with more details on these changes.”
CNN memo to employees from CEO Chris Licht
The decision to cut costs at CNN comes from the news network’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. Earlier this year, CNN’s parent company WarnerMedia merged with Discovery Inc. When the two companies merged, CEO David Zaslav told investors that the newly merged company will look to make $3 billion worth of savings. HBO Max, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, laid off nearly 70 staffers last month.
In October, Licht sent a memo to CNN employees informing them that network executives are evaluating potential budget cuts and spending reductions that can be implemented. After the colossal failure of CNN+, the network’s streaming service which cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars but was incapable of garnering an audience or a profit, Licht did not believe that WarnerBros. Discovery would mandate more job cuts after they cut the plug off CNN+.
CNN’s ratings have drastically underperformed compared to their cable news network rivals. FOX New’s primetime lineup viewership has significantly outperformed CNN’s over the last year. According to Nielsen ratings, CNN has had a 27% decrease in viewership since one year ago.
Licht, who took over as CNN’s CEO in May, has discussed his desire to make significant changes to the primetime and morning lineups. Licht has stated that he wants the new network to have more centrist reporting and reduce the partisanship from pundits that have caused many to change the channel.
“I think we can be a beacon in regaining that trust by being an organization that exemplifies the best characteristics of journalism: fearlessly speaking truth to power, challenging the status quo, questioning ‘group-think, and educating viewers and readers with straightforward facts and insightful commentary, while always being respectful of differing viewpoints.”
Chris Licht’s first memo to employees upon taking the position of CEO
