CNN laid off hundreds of employees Thursday as part of CEO Chris Licht's efforts to transform the cable news network.
CNN had a lot of people working for it. A person who was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter said that the layoffs affected hundreds of staffers. About 400 employees were let go.
CNN was rumored to be planning layoffs.
After the news was delivered to employees, Licht sent a memo to all staff. A town hall will be held next week to answer any questions.
The cuts are part of a larger effort to cut costs.
You can read the full memo here.
December 1, 2020.
To my co-workers.
I will be following up with an overview of the changes we have made. To better align our people, processes and resources with our future priorities, strengthen our ability to deliver on CNN's core journalistic mission and enable us to innovate in the years ahead are some of the goals of the strategic review process. The goal is to best serve and grow audiences for our core news programming.
To achieve these goals, we will be focusing on programming, newsgathering and digital. The decisions are made to strengthen the business.
I want to walk through the broader changes we are making, even though it is not possible to capture every role.
Hln.
CNN will broadcast CNN This Morning from December 6. The WBD Networks will be the new home of HLN Crime. Robin Meade is one of the longest-running morning hosts in history, and she is also an exceptional anchor. She and the other HLN talent will be missed.
CNN is available outside of the United States.
The 5:00-6:00pm show on CNN International will be replaced by a simulcast of CNN US.
CNN is available in Espaol.
CNNE wants to broaden its audience by programming more than just news. We will continue to produce news for CNNE, and we will look to develop a more robust digital platform for CNNE with the goal of launching it in 2024. We will have more to share on how investment will serve and grow our Spanish-language audience in the future.
News gathering in the U.S.
We are reorganizing some of our beats, realigning resources to staff up in some units and in more areas around the country. We want to cover the United States more broadly. The staff reductions in Newsgathering will be offset by the addition of new roles.
They are contributors.
We are moving towards paid contributors. CNN journalists will be more relied on in some places. Contributors who are subject-matter experts will be used to expand and broaden the viewpoints we bring.
There is programming.
The combination of teams for our dayside and weekend lineups will be reduced.
The marketing is creative.
Creative and strategy roles in New York will be consolidated in the Creative Marketing team. Roles will be added to support the work that is done.
There is research.
CNN's core businesses will be the focus of research as it reorganizes.
There are operations.
Changes to other units across the organization have led to the restructuring of the operations teams.
CNN has a website.
CNN Digital conducted an exercise to make sure they were prepared for the future There are no further impacts due to the changes they made.
The changes we are making today will allow us to place big bets without fear of failure.
I would like to thank our departing colleagues for their dedication and hard work. To all employees, it's important to take the time you need to move forward. Resources to support you are here. I will be answering your questions at a town hall on Tuesday.
CNN will continue to be the world's most vital source of news and information because of the dedication of this team.
Chris is a person.
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