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CNN begins layoffs in what CEO says will be a 'gut punch' to the network

CNN on Wednesday informed employees that layoffs had commenced, a move that is expected to impact hundreds of staffers at the global news network and mark the deepest cuts to the organization in years.

Chris Licht, who took over as chief executive of the network in May, described the cuts in an all-staff memo as a “gut punch” to the organization and told employees that “it is incredibly hard to say goodbye to any one member of the CNN team, much less many.”

Employees at the company had been anxiously bracing for the layoffs since Licht informed them last month that “unsettling” changes lie ahead.

Licht said that on Wednesday the company would notify a “limited number of individuals,” largely paid contributors, that they have been let go. He said the company “will notify impacted employees” on Thursday. Licht said at the conclusion of the cuts he will “follow up with more details.”

“It will be a difficult time for everyone,” Licht candidly said in his memo.

CNN declined to say on Wednesday how many employees precisely would be impacted by the layoffs.

The layoffs come as media companies are being battered by brutal economic headwinds that have taken a bat to the advertising sector. Licht noted in October, when he signaled large cuts were coming, that there is “widespread concern over the global economic outlook” and that CNN “must factor that risk into [its] long-term planning.”

Other media organizations have also cut costs as they work to best position themselves for the stormy economic climate. Disney (DIS) said last week the company needed to restructure, and AMC Networks (AMCX)announced Tuesday that it would cut 20% of its staff. Social media companies such as Facebook (FB)-parent Meta, which also rely on advertising revenue, have also executed layoffs in recent months.

CNN, which still posts profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars, was spared from the cuts that wreaked havoc on the industry during the pandemic. Prior to this year, the last major cuts to occur at the organization were in 2018 when less than 50 people lost their jobs as the company restructured its digital business.

The cuts to the organization also come after CNN’s former parent company, WarnerMedia, merged earlier this year with Discovery, creating a media juggernaut laced with billions of dollars in debt and a need to slash costs across the board. The merger had just been completed in April when the company announced it was shuttering streaming service CNN+ a month after it was launched

David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, the company that was formed when WarnerMedia and Discovery became one, has promised investors that he will find more than $3 billion in savings in the combined organization.

After Licht took over as head of CNN, he conducted a months-long review of the business. That review led to him identifying changes that should be made, Licht said in October. Some of those changes have already been implemented, as CNN has made smaller cuts to parts of its business in the last several months.

Licht said in his all-staff memo on Wednesday that employees affected by this week’s cuts will be notified “through an in-person meeting or via Zoom, depending on your location.”

“In those meetings, you will receive information specific to you about notice period or any severance that would apply, and your anticipated last day,” Licht said. “I want to be clear that everyone who is bonus eligible will still receive their 2022 bonuses, which are determined by company performance.”

Licht acknowledged that the cuts will “affect both our departing colleagues and those who remain” and promised to provide employees “resources designed to support” them.

“Let’s take care of each other this week,” Licht said.

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by Anonymousreply 40December 3, 2022 2:53 AM

[quote]CNN begins layoffs in what CEO says will be a 'gut punch' to the network

How very CEOish of him.

by Anonymousreply 1November 30, 2022 8:55 PM

I wonder how long this guy will last. He seems to be systematically destroying CNN.

by Anonymousreply 2November 30, 2022 9:00 PM

I'm starting to get the feeling that these CEOs [italic]want[/italic] the economy to slide into a recession. They're doing everything they can to make it happen.

by Anonymousreply 3November 30, 2022 9:18 PM

Does this mean NYE without drunken Don?

by Anonymousreply 4November 30, 2022 9:20 PM

There is never a good time for layoffs but why do these motherfucking corporations always do it at holiday time?

by Anonymousreply 5November 30, 2022 9:24 PM

Am I to blame?

by Anonymousreply 6November 30, 2022 9:58 PM

Yes!

by Anonymousreply 7November 30, 2022 10:33 PM

As long as there are no layoffs at sister corporate entity, Discovery Networks.

I'd hate to see a decline in programming that would affect the quality of content of My 600 Pound LIfe, Sister Wives, Ninety Day Fiancee, I Am Shauna Rae, My Big, Fat, Fabulous Life and other programming gems.

by Anonymousreply 8November 30, 2022 10:38 PM

Surely if there were big names they'd be out by now.

by Anonymousreply 9November 30, 2022 11:51 PM

If there's a god, no more Andy Coken on NYE.

by Anonymousreply 10November 30, 2022 11:55 PM

It at least provides an opportunity for those affected to change careers and start making a honest living.

by Anonymousreply 11December 1, 2022 12:01 AM

good search.

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by Anonymousreply 12December 1, 2022 1:25 AM

[quote] There is never a good time for layoffs but why do these motherfucking corporations always do it at holiday time?

I don't know if it is still the "logic" but I remember reading many years ago that the best time to release someone from employment is during the week (not on Friday) & during a busy period (not summer or spring vacation, etc.).

The thinking is that when people have a support network around them, they are less likely to be bitter and self-pitying...and violent.

by Anonymousreply 13December 1, 2022 1:43 AM

The other thing: fiscal year end.

by Anonymousreply 14December 1, 2022 1:46 AM

Will Jake Tapper survive?

by Anonymousreply 15December 1, 2022 2:03 AM

Party is over.

by Anonymousreply 16December 1, 2022 2:27 AM

Please be Wolf…

by Anonymousreply 17December 1, 2022 8:20 AM

Lol R8.

by Anonymousreply 18December 1, 2022 9:05 AM

Well that's great. They're doing this at holiday time? CNN has sucked or a long time.

by Anonymousreply 19December 1, 2022 9:07 AM

That's sad. CNN is my go-to for news between the extremism that is FOX and MSNBC.

by Anonymousreply 20December 1, 2022 9:52 AM

I have ZERO sympathy until they fire Anderson Cooper. Overpriced and Underwhelming ratings. This is hilarious watching CNN off the rails. At least Jeff Zucker knew what he was doing. CNN is not only firing people but they are STOPPING their original series because they don't have the money for budgets. Axed Lisa Lings show. Erin Burnett is unwatchable.

by Anonymousreply 21December 1, 2022 10:03 AM

[quote] Chris Cillizza has been let go by CNN.

[quote] This is an incredibly tough setback for fans of mediocre white men who are utterly terrible at their jobs.

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by Anonymousreply 22December 1, 2022 5:29 PM

I remember when they fired Candy Crowley for causing overruns in the food services budget.

I just hope they don’t let go of Jeanne Moos, and I wish they’d bring Elsa Klensch back from the dead.

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by Anonymousreply 23December 1, 2022 11:58 PM

I just saw that they fired a bunch of reporters. Robin Meade, Martin Savage and others. They are canceling some live shows too. Sorry I can't link. I always have trouble doing that.

by Anonymousreply 24December 2, 2022 12:02 AM

I like the shapes that aren’t circles.

by Anonymousreply 25December 2, 2022 12:05 AM

They got rid of that loathsome Chris Cillizza, so its not all bad.

by Anonymousreply 26December 2, 2022 12:06 AM

I think everyone can agree that Cillizza was not a journalist. His listicles were more appropriate for clickbait sites. His work at CNN degraded the image of the company.

by Anonymousreply 27December 2, 2022 3:41 AM

Did he degrade the image more than drunken anchors on New Year’s Eve or former CNN host Tucker Carlson when he was in his television infancy?

by Anonymousreply 28December 2, 2022 3:46 AM

When there's literally nothing you can use to defend Cillizza, there's always whataboutism for deflecting.

by Anonymousreply 29December 2, 2022 4:09 AM

Fire all the actual news people and outsource everything to right-wing bloggers?

by Anonymousreply 30December 2, 2022 4:39 AM

I used to watch CNN all the time. Now that this Licht guy has taken over, they made an abrupt right turn, which is not going to appeal to virtually anyone. Right wingers do not watch CNN, they watch Fox. If this guy wanted to run a right wing news organization, he should have applied at Fox.

I feel bad for all the employees being let go right before Christmas, but honestly, has he done anything whatsoever to actually bring in new viewers? Firing people isn’t doing that. It seems pretty obvious this isn’t a course correction, he’s just trying to hollow it out until they lose all their fact based reporters and can never recover.

I think there’s a lot of right wingers going into these media companies whose purpose isn’t to save it, their purpose is to destroy another centrist or in some cases, liberal outlet and replace it with yet another “truther” led outlet. Or just bankrupt the company and eliminate it entirely. The purpose seems to be, get rid of any media outlet that isn’t conservative driven, so people will never see anything but conservative propaganda.

Putin has done a great job in eliminating fact-based, non-propaganda news, and most Russians seem to think attacking a neighboring country and attempting genocide is the greatest idea ever. You can make people believe anything if they never see anything to the contrary.

I wonder what would happen if you left the U.S. and came back ten years from now, at this rate. Would you turn on the TV and see nothing but Putin talking points straight from the Kremlin? It seems headed that way.

by Anonymousreply 31December 2, 2022 11:49 AM

[quote]I used to watch CNN all the time. Now that this Licht guy has taken over, they made an abrupt right turn, which is not going to appeal to virtually anyone. Right wingers do not watch CNN, they watch Fox. If this guy wanted to run a right wing news organization, he should have applied at Fox.

So you don't believe it's possible to go from being a left-wing news organization to being a center, middle-of-the-road news organization? The only choices are left-wing and right-wing?

by Anonymousreply 32December 3, 2022 12:43 AM

Jean Moos is delightful!

by Anonymousreply 33December 3, 2022 12:59 AM

Preet Bharara also got it. But Cillizza seems to be the biggest name to take the hit. Ana Cabrera is leaving for NBC under her own steam. All these anchors still floating around doing nothing. Brianna Keillor must cost them a million just on craft tables. I thought they learned that lesson with Candy Crowley.

by Anonymousreply 34December 3, 2022 1:12 AM

CNN puts on a Gay Minstrel Show every New Years Eve. Complete with fem manless gays who would rather booze up for the cameras than spend time with their Lab Brats. With friends like CNN who needs enemies?

by Anonymousreply 35December 3, 2022 1:28 AM

[quote]Preet Bharara also got

He should get a medal for being able to stretch out his time for six years. His only claim to fame was flouting his obligation as U.S. Attorney to resign when a new president takes office.

by Anonymousreply 36December 3, 2022 1:45 AM

R22, why does everything have to be racial? Can you imagine the reaction if this was said about any other race. Don Lemon is mediocre at best but was still given another job at CNN.

by Anonymousreply 37December 3, 2022 1:47 AM

I think CNN lost a lot of credibility when they hung on to Jeffrey Toobin, when the Atlantic cut all ties with him.

by Anonymousreply 38December 3, 2022 1:48 AM

Looking at R35's posting history ... yikes.

by Anonymousreply 39December 3, 2022 2:20 AM

Jeffrey Toobin hung on despite his not being hung.

by Anonymousreply 40December 3, 2022 2:53 AM
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