Brutal layoffs are hitting CBS News after its parent company announced a plan to axe more than 2,000 staff across the organization.
New Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss acknowledged the cuts on the network’s morning editorial call Wednesday, Semafor’s Max Tani reported.
Weiss called it a ‘enormously difficult day’ for the network, according to Tani.
David Ellison, the chairman of CBS News parent Paramount, broke the news about the companywide layoffs in a note to staff on Tuesday.
‘In some areas, we are addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organization,’ he wrote.
‘In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth.’
The layoffs will include an initial round of cuts on Wednesday that will impact 1,000 staffers across various departments. Another 1,000 are soon to follow, the New York Times reported.
In addition to CBS, layoffs will also hit Paramount’s film studio and cable networks, including MTV, Nickelodeon and BET.
Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss acknowledged the layoffs on the network’s morning editorial call, according to a new report
CBS Evening News co-host John Dickerson announced his resignation from the network Monday after 16 years at the network
Sources told the Daily Mail earlier this year that executives will ‘most likely’ not renew longtime CBS Mornings host Gayle King’s contract when it expires in May
Paramount Chairman David Ellison outlined the roughly 2,000 layoffs in an early morning note to staff.
The news comes days after CBS Evening News co-host John Dickerson announced his resignation, ending a stint plagued by poor ratings.
The 16-year CBS veteran had been quietly negotiating his exit for weeks, Status reported. Paramount’s merger with Ellison’s Skydance in July led to the decision.
Well-connected sources told the Daily Mail earlier this year that executives will ‘most likely’ not renew longtime CBS Mornings host Gayle King’s contract when it expires in May.
The show, hosted by King since 2011, has also suffered from poor ratings.
Ellison installed Weiss, the anti-woke former New York Times opinion editor, as editor-in-chief earlier this month.
The network also acquired her publication, The Free Press, for around $150million.
Weiss, 41, who quit the Times in 2020 over its ‘illiberal environment,’ has regularly criticized the state of legacy media and left-leaning views.
This is a developing story; please check back for updates.
