CNN plans to lay off hundreds of employees, cut costs; NBC plans shootings

CNN chief Mark Thompson reportedly plans to announce mass layoffs Thursday — just days after he warned top on-air talent, including Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper, that they should avoid President Donald Trump’s “bias.”

The ratings-challenged cable news pioneer will lay off hundreds of employees as it refocuses the business around a global digital audience, CNBC reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The job cuts come as CNN, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, looks to retool its linear TV lineup and create digital subscription products, CNBC said, adding that it will help CNN lower production costs and consolidate teams.

Some shows produced in New York or Washington may be moved to Atlanta, where production can be done more cheaply, the report said.

Comcast-owned NBC News is also planning job cuts later this week, according to the report. While there is no exact number, the layoffs will be under 50.

Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, said earlier this month it would lay off about 4% of its workforce, or fewer than 100 employees, in an effort to cut costs, while the newspaper celebrity faces mounting losses.

In November, The Associated Press said it would cut about 8% of its workforce as it seeks to modernize its operations and products.

News of CNN’s killing comes after Thompson reportedly warned staff “against expressing any anger” during the inauguration.

Thompson, the former BBC and New York Times executive, convened a virtual editorial meeting Sunday that included Tapper, Cooper and many other senior news personalities to discuss CNN’s coverage of the inauguration ceremonies that took place the next day in Washington, DC, according to the status bulletin.

During the meeting, Thompson “made it clear that he didn’t want the coverage to rehash the past,” according to Status reporter Oliver Darcy — a reference to CNN’s historically hostile relationship with Trump.

According to the report, Thompson asked his charges to avoid editorializing, as well as avoid coverage from focusing on Trump’s legal troubles, including convictions for falsifying business documents related to Stormy Daniels’ alleged “hush money” payment. .

Instead, he asked CNN staffers to focus on Trump’s second term and be “open-minded” about the next four years, according to Status.

A CNN spokesman declined to comment.

At the end of the call, Thompson reportedly opened the floor to allow employees to ask questions, but no one spoke, the report said.

“What Thompson and other senior executives had communicated was clear, and none of the meeting participants seemed to want to question the instructions,” Darcy wrote.

On Tuesday, Thompson convened another virtual editorial call to reiterate his message.
Thompson told CNN staff that they must remain “tough-minded” in coverage while at the same time being “fair-minded,” according to Status.

During the call, Virginia Moseley, CNN’s executive editor, joked that CNN was “out of practice” handling the relentless Trump-generated news cycle, a challenge that will quickly intensify in the coming years.

Thompson’s strategy marks a shift in the network’s coverage of Trump under former CNN chief Jeff Zucker.

CNN has struggled to keep up with MSNBC and Fox News in the ratings race — which was reflected in the numbers for the inauguration.

Fox News, which shares joint ownership with The Post, dominated TV viewership during Trump’s inauguration, drawing 10.3 million viewers between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET, outpacing all other networks.

ABC (with 4.7 million viewers), NBC (4.4 million) and CBS (4.1 million) followed.