CNN said it is laying off employees and paid contributors, the latest shake-up for the cable network after Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. WBD 1.27% increase; green up pointing triangle took ownership of it from AT&T Inc. earlier this year.
“It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to any one member of the CNN team, much less many,” Chris Licht, chief executive at CNN, wrote in a memo to staff on Wednesday that was viewed by The Wall Street Journal. “I recently described this process as a gut punch, because I know that is how it feels for all of us.”
He said the company would notify “a limited number of individuals, largely some of our paid contributors, as part of a recalibrated reporting strategy.” He added that he would notify affected employees on Thursday and follow up with more details.
“It will be a difficult time for everyone,” he said.
A CNN spokeswoman didn’t immediately comment beyond the memo.
The cable news network’s cutbacks come after waves of layoffs have rippled across some industries. AMC Networks Inc. this week said it would lay off about 200 U.S.-based employees after struggling to make enough money from streaming services to offset losses from a continued decline in cable television.
Walt Disney Co. said earlier this month it would initiate layoffs after posting a disappointing earnings report. The company said its flagship Disney+ service has lost more than $8 billion over the past three years. About a week later, in a surprise move, it brought back Robert Iger as chief executive. He had left Disney at the end of last year.
Paramount Global also suggested that it would soon make substantial cost cuts during an earnings call this month after it reported a decline in third-quarter profit due to higher costs.
The layoffs at CNN are the latest signs of a shaky start to the April merger of Discovery Inc. with AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia. Over the summer, Warner Bros. Discovery, which also owns HBO, TNT and the Food Network, cut its outlook for this year and next in part because of a slowdown in advertising.
Warner Bros. Discovery has already laid off about 1,000 employees since April as the company cuts costs and grapples with high debt. Those cuts included staffers at HBO, the Warner Bros. movie and television production units and previous reductions at CNN.
In the spring, CNN pulled the plug on its streaming service CNN+ about a month after it launched amid an underwhelming reception. It had invested $300 million in the streaming service but didn’t get many subscribers. Mr. Licht announced the service was shutting down less than two weeks after CNN ownership shifted from AT&T to Warner Bros. Discovery.
Mr. Licht has also begun overhauling CNN’s lineup. In August, the network canceled its Sunday morning show “Reliable Sources” as part of a broader shake-up of the news channel’s Sunday morning lineup. Brian Stelter, the host of “Reliable Sources” and the network’s chief media correspondent, left CNN after the show was canceled.
Mr. Licht has indicated he wants CNN to change the perception that its political coverage is too partisan. That includes having more news shows and less opinion shows. David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, has also said he wants to differentiate CNN from “advocacy networks.”
CNN created a morning news show with Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins as part of its lineup overhaul. Mr. Lemon left his prime-time program “Don Lemon Tonight” to join the new morning show.
Michael Bass, the network’s programming chief and a longtime ally of its former president, Jeff Zucker, also plans to leave CNN by the end of the year, the network said last week. Mr. Bass has overseen most of the network’s live programs and elections coverage. CNN didn’t say why Mr. Bass decided to leave.
In his memo to staff, Mr. Licht said laid off employees who are bonus eligible will still receive their 2022 bonuses.
“I know these changes affect both our departing colleagues and those who remain,” he said in his memo, while adding: “Let’s take care of each other this week.”
WSJ
