Hundreds of CNN staff have been notified of layoffs Thursday as a part of CEO Chris Licht’s efforts to rework the cable news community.
CNN had about 4,400 staff. The layoffs affected tons of of staffers, however amounted to a “single-digit percentage” of workers, in keeping with an individual accustomed to the matter who was not licensed to talk publicly in regards to the matter. That would imply not more than about 400 staffers have been let go.
Licht despatched a memo to all staffers Thursday afternoon after the news was delivered to staff, which included long-time HLN anchor Robin Meade and reporter Chris Cillizza. Licht wrote within the memo he’ll maintain a city corridor subsequent week to reply any questions.
Licht’s cuts are a part of a broader effort at Warner Bros. Discovery, the mum or dad firm of CNN, to chop prices heading into 2023.
December 1, 2022
To my CNN colleagues,
As promised in my be aware yesterday, I’m following up with an outline of the adjustments we have now made throughout the corporate. Our purpose all through the strategic assessment course of has been to raised align our individuals, processes and sources with our future priorities, strengthen our skill to ship on CNN’s core journalistic mission and allow us to innovate within the years forward. At the very best degree, the purpose is to direct our sources to finest serve and develop audiences for our core news programming and merchandise.
To obtain these objectives, we shall be lowering open job positions, reimagining our workflows and aligning our staffing, investments and focus round three key strategic priorities: programming, newsgathering and digital. All choices are designed to strengthen the core of our business.
While it isn’t doable to seize each impacted position in an electronic mail like this, I wish to stroll by means of the broader adjustments we’re making:
HLN
Beginning December 6, CNN will not produce reside programming for HLN and as an alternative will simulcast CNN This Morning. HLN Crime programming will transfer beneath the WBD Networks led by Kathleen Finch and shall be merged with ID. I wish to take a second to thank Robin Meade— she is just not solely an exceptionally in style anchor, but additionally one of many longest-running morning hosts in historical past. I do know the HLN viewers will miss her and the opposite HLN expertise.
CNN International
CNN International is reorganizing a few of its groups and bureaus, and efficient instantly, the 5:00-5:30pm ET present shall be changed by a simulcast of CNN US for that half hour.
CNN en Español
CNNE’s linear community will search to broaden its viewers by diversifying the community’s programming past news. We will proceed to supply news for CNNE, and all through subsequent 12 months, we are going to look to develop a much more sturdy digital platform for CNNE with the intention of launching it in 2024. We imagine that funding will higher serve and considerably develop our Spanish-language news viewers, and we can have extra to share on that in 2023.
U.S. Newsgathering
We are restructuring throughout a few of our beats, realigning sources to workers up in some items and in additional areas across the nation. This will assist us ship on our purpose of overlaying the United States extra broadly. Many of the workers reductions in Newsgathering shall be offset by the addition of latest roles to finest serve our viewers throughout platforms.
Contributors
We are additionally shifting our strategy to paid contributors. In some areas, we are going to rely extra on our CNN journalists. Overall, we are going to interact contributors who’re subject-matter specialists that broaden and diversify the viewpoints we carry our viewers.
Programming
Our programming groups will see some reductions in present staffs and, in some instances, the mixture of groups for our dayside and weekend lineups.
Creative Marketing
The Creative Marketing crew will see an total discount in dimension, realigning round in-house manufacturing and consolidating inventive and technique roles in New York. Roles shall be added to each assist that work and broaden our digital and development advertising and marketing efforts.
Research
Research is reorganizing to focus sources on CNN’s core companies and to optimize our lately built-in Digital Analytics and Data Science groups.
Operations
The Operations groups are restructuring to align with the adjustments to different items throughout the group.
CNN Digital
CNN Digital carried out an train earlier this fall to make sure they have been finest structured for the long run. They made adjustments then and, because of this, there are not any additional impacts on this course of.
The adjustments we’re making right now are crucial and can make us stronger and higher positioned to position large bets going ahead with out concern of failure.
To our departing colleagues, I wish to specific my gratitude to your devoted and tireless service and to your many contributions to CNN. To all staff, I wish to underscore the significance of taking the time you want to finest have the ability to transfer ahead. You can discover sources to assist you now right here. I shall be holding a city corridor on Tuesday to reply your questions, which could be submitted anonymously right here.
I’m pleased with this CNN crew, and collectively we are going to guarantee CNN continues to be the world’s most important supply of news and knowledge.
Chris