CBS News is facing explosive allegations of racist layoffs after a former producer claimed all people of color on his team were terminated while white colleagues were relocated to other positions within the network
Trey Sherman, a former associate producer for CBS Evening News Plus, posted a TikTok video Wednesday accusing the network of racist practices during mass layoffs.
“I just got laid off from my job at CBS, and every producer on my team who got laid off is a person of color,” Sherman said. “Every person who gets to stay and will be relocated within the company is a White person.”
Sherman said an executive who informed him of his termination claimed he did everything possible to relocate staff but ultimately could not.
“It wasn’t until I went downstairs thinking that me and all of my colleagues had been laid off that I found out that it was only the people of color,” Sherman said.
The unnamed executive allegedly told Sherman he kept staffers he had “worked with before.”
“I don’t care if you decided to keep people who have purple color hair,” Sherman said. “You decided to keep people who you had worked with before with — don’t even know if that’s true — if the outcome of that decision is racist, the action was racist. That s*** is f**ked,” Sherman said.
The claims come as CBS News implements sweeping changes under new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, founder of The Free Press.
Paramount Skydance, CBS’s parent company, laid off approximately 1,000 employees Wednesday, including roughly 100 CBS News staffers.
CBS News eliminated two streaming shows, CBS Evening News Plus and CBS Mornings Plus. The network also disbanded its Race and Culture Unit, which Sherman worked for, though the unit’s head, Alvin Patrick, remains on staff.
CBS Saturday Morning was gutted, with co-anchors Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson both terminated along with executive producer Brian Applegate. The weekday CBS Mornings team will now handle the Saturday show, with roughly two-thirds of the weekend show’s staff laid off.
Gayle King is also expected to depart as co-anchor of CBS Mornings next year when her contract expires in May, according to Variety. Four people familiar with the situation confirmed King may transition to a different role within the news division.
CBS News denied the reports about King in a statement.
“There have been no discussions with Gayle about her contract that runs through May 2026. She’s a truly valued part of CBS and we look forward to engaging with her about the future,” a CBS News spokesperson said.
CBS Evening News co-anchor John Dickerson announced Monday he will leave the network in December after 16 years. Norah O’Donnell stepped down as CBS Evening News anchor in January and transitioned to a senior correspondent role.
Weiss told staffers during an editorial call Wednesday that it was “an enormously difficult day for so many people who have given years of their lives to this company.” She said her “door is open” to those looking for support.
The Race and Culture Unit was created during the 2020 riots under Patrick, who described the unit as providing “an extra pair of fresh eyes on stories that may need guidance on context, tone, and intention for every show and platform in the division.”