CNN lost viewers in 2021 amid a personnel shakeup at the top, the departure of top-rated newscaster Cris Cuomo, distrust among the population over years of bias, and general news burnout among its audience.
This year, the company pursued an aggressive strategy to stay afloat. It tried everything from launching a streaming service to limiting its use of the term “breaking news.”
Now, the company is finally retreating. CEO Chris Licht announced mass layoffs in a memo obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.
CNN went viral for the memo, despite Licht’s lack of presence on social media.
Sean Hannity’s staff called the memo a sign of the “the CN-End.” Puck News reported that CNN might terminate “hundreds” of employees.
Twitter users expressed sympathy for the affected employees. “Sending love to some of the smartest people in news today,” one journalist said.
Others questioned Licht’s management of the network. They pointed out that other news networks — like Newsmax, Fox News, and the BBC — are currently hiring.
CNN is “largely” targeting the layoffs at “paid contributors,” according to the memo. The network employs a wide range of contributors, from part-time staffers to big-name pundits like Ana Navarro.
Licht had been warning of layoffs since October. “There is widespread concern over the global economic outlook, and we must factor that risk into our long-term planning. All this together will mean noticeable change to this organization. That, by definition, is unsettling. These changes will not be easy because they will affect people, budgets, and projects,” Licht said in a memo last month.
Now, Licht has revealed his plan.
Read the memo below, per The Hollywood Reporter —
November 30, 2022
To my CNN colleagues,
Our people are the heart and soul of this organization. It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to any one member of the CNN team, much less many. I recently described this process as a gut punch, because I know that is how it feels for all of us.
Today we will notify a limited number of individuals, largely some of our paid contributors, as part of a recalibrated reporting strategy. Tomorrow, we will notify impacted employees, and tomorrow afternoon I will follow up with more details on these changes.
It will be a difficult time for everyone. If your job has been impacted, you will learn more 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. I want to be clear that everyone who is bonus eligible will still receive their 2022 bonuses, which are determined by company performance.
I know these changes affect both our departing colleagues and those who remain, and we have resources designed to support you. I will include a link to those resources in my follow up email tomorrow.
Let’s take care of each other this week.
Chris
The Horn editorial team