[The Epoch Times, December 01, 2022](Epoch Times reporter Dave Ruo comprehensive report) On Wednesday (November 30), CNN notified employees that layoffs have begun and are expected to affect the global news network Hundreds of employees, and marks the company’s largest layoffs in years.
Chris Licht, who took over as CEO of the media network in May, described the layoffs as a “blow” to the company in an all-staff memo, telling staff to “talk to anyone on the CNN team.” It was very difficult to say goodbye to even one member, let alone a lot of people.”
Employees have been anxiously preparing for the possible loss of their jobs since Lichter informed of “disturbing” changes ahead last month.
Lichter said the company will notify a “limited number of individuals” — mostly paid contributors — on Wednesday that they have been fired. He said “affected employees will be notified on Thursday” and would “follow up with further details”.
“This is going to be a difficult time for everyone,” Lichter said bluntly in the memo.
CNN on Wednesday declined to say how many employees would be affected by the layoffs.
The layoffs come as media companies are being hit by brutal economic headwinds that have hit the advertising industry. Lichter noted in October that when he signaled that deep spending cuts were imminent, there was “widespread concern about the outlook for the global economy” and that CNN “must factor that risk into its long-term planning.”
Some other media organizations are also cutting costs in response to the looming economic storm.
Disney said last week that the company needs to restructure, and AMC Networks (AMCX) announced Tuesday that it will lay off 20% of its workforce. Social media companies that also rely on advertising revenue, such as Facebook parent Meta, have also cut staff in recent months.
CNN’s last major layoff was in 2018, when it fired fewer than 50 people as the company restructured its digital operations.
Warner Bros. Discovery, a media giant saddled with billions of dollars in debt and in need of cost-cutting across the board, came after CNN’s former parent company, WarnerMedia, merged with Discovery earlier this year. The merger was completed in April, when the company announced it would launch a streaming service, CNN+, which was shut down after only a month of existence.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav promised investors he would save more than $3 billion in the combined organization.
After Lichter took over as CNN chief, he undertook a months-long review of the business. He said in October that review allowed him to identify changes that should be made. Some of those changes have already been implemented as CNN has made minor cutbacks to some of its operations over the past few months.
Lichter said in an all-employee memo on Wednesday that employees affected by this week’s layoffs will be notified either through an in-person meeting or via Zoom.
Responsible editor: Li Yuan#