Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) and Comcast’s NBC Universal are planning layoffs that will impact the editorial operations of CNN and NBC News respectively, according to a report published on Wednesday.
The report, from CNBC, cited unnamed sources at WBD who said the timing of the layoffs were intended to coincide with the inauguration of President Donald Trump, who was sworn into a second non-consecutive term in office on Wednesday.
The CNN layoffs come amid falling ratings and revenue at the cable news channel. CNN regularly places third behind Fox News and MSNBC in the ratings, and its revenue has dropped by tens of millions of dollars over the past few years.
CNN’s well-known, on-air talent will be insulated from now, as most of the channel’s hosts and correspondents remain under contract. But behind-the-scenes workers that comprise CNN’s global workforce of 3,500 employees are targets for pink slips, particularly in areas with redundancies or where it is costly to do business.
To that end, some CNN employees based in New York City or Washington, D.C. will be offered opportunities to relocate to Atlanta, where production is cheaper, CNBC reported. The precise number of people affected by layoffs was not immediately clear from CNBC’s report, though the network said they could start as soon as Thursday.
Additionally, NBC News is readying plans to issue pink slips to less than 50 employees, the channel said. Those layoffs are expected to be announced later this week.
