CNN to begin layoffs, affecting 'mostly paid contributors' - report

CNN has begun layoffs as macroeconomic pressures continue to flare up, CNN CEO Chris Licht informed employees in a Wednesday memo.

Per CNN Business’ Oliver Darcy, Licht said the company will notify “a limited number of individuals” on Thursday that they have been let go. He didn’t specify exactly how many employees would be affected, only saying the layoffs will largely impact paid contributors.

“It will be a difficult time for everyone,” Licht said in the memo, adding he will “follow up with more details” once CNN has finished making the cuts.

News of CNN’s layoffs comes roughly a month after parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced it’s increasing its cost savings goal from $3 billion to at least $3.5 billion.

Profitability has been a key focus for WBD, which inherited a $53 billion debt load after completing the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery. The company previously disclosed it expects to incur between $3.2 billion to $4.3 billion in pre-tax restructuring costs related to the merger.

CNN has particularly been hit with WBD’s cost cutting measures. Its fledgling streaming service CNN+ shuttered at the end of April, just one month after launch and a few weeks after WBD officially merged. Earlier reports cited CNN+ drew fewer than 10,000 viewers daily.

“We will clearly take swift and decisive actions on certain items,” WBD CEO David Zaslav said in April regarding CNN+’s shutdown.

As for CNN’s cable division, it ranked third in cable news ratings for the third quarter, averaging 717,000 prime time viewers. However, CNN lagged the viewership levels of MSNBC (1.28 million viewers) and Fox News (2.19 million).

WBD laid off employees of its own in September, letting go of 100 staffers in ad sales. The cuts were based on media reports suggesting the company plans to reduce its global ad sales team by as much as 30%.

Other media companies are following suit in reducing headcounts. Roku in November disclosed it would cut 200 U.S. jobs, as a result of a weakened TV ad market. This week, reports broke out that AMC Networks plans to lay off 20% of its U.S.-based staff – shortly after AMC announced CEO Christina Spade would exit the company.

Disney, which saw the return of Bob Iger as CEO, is also undergoing corporate restructuring. It recently established a hiring freeze for all roles except the “most critical, business-driving positions.”