CNN Expected To Announce Substantial Job Cuts

CNN is expected to announce significant job cuts this week, part of CEO Mark Thompson’s long-in-the-works restructuring plans to place more emphasis on the digital future.

CNBC first reported on the job reductions, which could number in the hundreds. A CNN spokesperson declined comment.

As he has laid out a digital strategy, Thompson has long signaled that it would comes with reductions in staff. The network went through a round of layoffs last year, with about 100 people impacted, or 2.9% of a 3,500 employee workforce.

The network has sought new avenues for raising revenue, launching a paywall last fall on CNN.com, which is one of the highest trafficked news sites in the world. But its linear network has had to grapple with sagging ratings. Figures such as Chris Wallace and Alisyn Camerota have recently departed the network as their contracts expired.

The job reductions are now commonplace across media, as companies have seen a disbursement of ad dollars and a migration of other audiences to other platforms.

This evening, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to note the report of CNN layoffs, writing, “MSDNC is even worse than CNN. They shouldn’t even have a right to broadcast — Only in America!”

MSNBC is in the process of being spun off from parent Comcast, along with other linear cable networks, including CNBC.