CNN Signals Layoffs and Budget Cuts Before End of the Year

Mr. Licht said in his memo that he would aim to protect CNN’s newsgathering, saying that he would “not allow these changes to affect our position as the world’s leading news source.” He also said that he planned to search for ways to invest in the company’s digital business. Among those groups he hopes to spare are photojournalists and video editors. He also hopes to preserve spending on prime-time and morning programming.

Mr. Licht began a business review of CNN not long after he took over in May. As part of that, he asked executives to game-out situations that included cost-cutting, according to three people with knowledge of CNN’s operations.

But those possible cuts were not as severe as those being considered now, because of the worsening economy and pressure from CNN’s parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, the people said. Warner Bros. Discovery said in a securities filing this week that it could incur more than $1 billion in costs this quarter related to restructuring, including severance. It has already announced cuts at many other parts of the business.

CNN’s profitability has sagged this year as its viewership declined and because of the costs of covering the war in Ukraine. The company is expected to dip below $1 billion in profit in 2022 for the first time in years. The network has lagged behind its chief competitors, Fox News and MSNBC, in total viewership this year, though it has notched wins over MSNBC in the coveted advertiser demographic of 25- to 54 year-olds, according to Nielsen data.

The cuts come during a turbulent year at CNN. In April, the network shut down CNN+, its subscription streaming service, a $300 million effort that ended days after it launched. Executives from Discovery determined that the service was too costly, resulting in significant layoffs. After the service was killed, Mr. Licht told employees that he didn’t expect Warner Bros. Discovery to impose additional layoffs at CNN after the shutdown of CNN+ as part of its corporate cost-cutting, though he noted in a subsequent town hall he was conducting the business review.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/26/business/media/cnn-cuts-chris-licht.html