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Report: Cumulus begins issuing layoff notices to workers

The radio giant issued pink slips to employees the same week it announced the end of its news syndication service.

The radio giant issued pink slips to employees the same week it announced the end of its news syndication service.

The logo of Cumulus Media. (Image: Handout/Graphic: The Desk)

Cumulus Media has started issuing pink slips to some employees across its vast network of radio stations, according to a report.

Mary Berner, the chief executive of Cumulus Media, sent a memo to employees on Thursday saying around 3 percent of the company’s workforce would be laid off, according to a tweet from industry outlet Radio Insight.

It was not immediately known how many employees would be receiving layoff notices. Cumulus has around 3,600 full-time employees spread out across its corporate office and 430 radio radio stations. Assuming the layoff notices are going to full-time employees, the reduction could represent a loss of around 100 jobs.

News of the layoff notices comes just one day after Cumulus began notifying stations and partner broadcasters that it would soon end its news syndication service Westwood One News service. Launched in 2015, the service served as a replacement to ABC News Radio, providing bulletins and stories to around 900 local stations across the country.

In San Francisco, Cumulus operates several stations, including news-talk station KGO (810 AM), sports talk station KNBR (680 AM, 104.5 FM) and rock station KSAN (107.7 FM).

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is an award-winning journalist with more than 10 years of experience covering the business of television and radio broadcasting, streaming services and the overall media industry. In addition to his work as publisher of The Desk, Matthew contributes regularly to StreamTV Insider and KnowTechie, and has worked for several well-known news organizations, including Thomson Reuters, McNaughton Newspapers, Grasswire, Comstock's magazine, KTXL-TV and KGO-TV. Matthew is a member of IRE, a trade organization for investigative reporters and editors, and is based in Northern California.

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