CNN announced on Thursday that roughly 6% of its workforce would be laid off amid the network’s shift toward digital platforms. The announcement came just days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
In a memo distributed to staff members on Thursday, CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced the mass layoffs at the news network. While Thompson confirmed reports that roughly 200 employees would be cut due to the company’s restructuring, the CEO explained that he did not expect CNN’s total number of employees to decrease significantly in 2025 since the company intends to invest $70 million in digital initiatives.
“The changes we’re announcing today are part of an ongoing response by this great news organization to profound and irreversible shifts in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news,” Thompson told employees. “Our objective is a simple one: to shift CNN’s gravity towards the platforms and products where the audience themselves are shifting and, by doing that, to secure CNN’s future as one of the world’s greatest news organizations.”
“I know that whatever the total number of job losses, the impact on the individuals involved can be immense,” Thompson added. “The process of change is essential if we’re to thrive in the future, but I both acknowledge and regret its very real human consequences.”
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Sources familiar with the job cuts told CNBC that the layoffs are expected to help the company decrease production costs and consolidate teams at the network as CNN restructures its television lineup and prioritizes digital platforms. The sources indicated that some shows at the network could be moved from New York City or Washington, D.C., to Atlanta due to production costs.
“This is a moment where the digital story feels like an existential question,” Thompson said in a statement to The New York Times. “If we do not follow the audiences to the new platforms with real conviction and scale, our future prospects will not be good.”
According to CNBC, NBC News is also expected to announce job cuts this week. However, sources familiar with the upcoming job cuts indicated that fewer than 50 jobs will be affected by the NBC News layoffs.
The New York Post noted that the CNN and NBC News job cuts come amid mass layoffs by other news platforms. The outlet reported that The Washington Post recently announced that it would be cutting roughly 4% of its workforce, while The Associated Press announced that it would be cutting roughly 8% of its employees.