Layoff Announcement and Staff Impact
CBS News revealed on Friday that it is laying off dozens of employees as part of a strategic restructuring. This was communicated in a memo to staff from editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski. The memo stated that employees would be informed by the end of the day if their positions were affected.
The layoffs are expected to impact approximately 6% of the newsroom’s roughly 1,100-person staff, according to a source familiar with the matter. Earlier reports had suggested a figure closer to 15%.
“We recognize that this is a difficult time for those who will be leaving News,” Weiss and Cibrowski wrote. “Because these aren’t just names on a list. They are talented, committed colleagues who have been critical to our success. We’ll treat them all with care and respect.”
Context of Industry Changes
The executives framed the layoffs within the broader context of the evolving media landscape.
“It’s no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it,” Weiss and Cibrowski wrote. “New audiences are burgeoning in new places, and we are pressing forward with ambitious plans to grow and invest so that we can be there for them. That means some parts of our newsroom must get smaller to make room for the things we must build to remain competitive.”
Staff Call and Leadership Remarks
During the network’s 9 a.m. editorial call, Weiss explained the process of the layoffs and underscored the difficulty of the situation.
“The most important thing that I want to say to everyone in this newsroom and in particular to the people that are going to be affected today, is that it has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of your work and the way you have poured your heart and soul into this organization,” Weiss said, according to an audio recording obtained by . “It simply has everything to do with the times we are living in, and the way that this industry perhaps more than any other industry is being just transformed.”
Cibrowski added support during the call.
“We are here to support you today, and we are here to support you beyond today. I promise you,” Cibrowski said. “In the meantime, you will have questions, and we are here to answer them to the best of our ability. But let’s respect the process of today as it begins.”
Despite these assurances, employee morale remained low. One staffer, who declined to be named, told ,
“Mood’s not great here lol.”
Previous Layoffs and Staff Changes
This round of layoffs follows an earlier, more extensive reduction in late October, described by some as a “blood bath.” That earlier round occurred shortly after Weiss assumed leadership of the newsroom. In contrast, Weiss and Cibrowski were more directly involved in planning the recent layoffs.
The network has also experienced several key departures through buyouts offered to CBS Evening News staff, as well as notable resignations earlier this month. One such departure involved a journalist who announced plans to pursue independent work.
Additionally, CBS News’s flagship program, 60 Minutes, faced a setback when correspondent Anderson Cooper, who also anchors CNN primetime programming, announced he would not continue with the show.
Corporate Ownership and Future Cuts
These layoffs are the second since Skydance Media acquired CBS News’s parent company, Paramount, in August. Further reductions are anticipated following Paramount Skydance’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, pending regulatory approval. Paramount has indicated that the merger could yield $6 billion in cost savings.
Timing Amid Intense News Cycle
Weiss and Cibrowski acknowledged the difficulty of implementing layoffs during a period of intense news coverage, particularly with the ongoing war in Iran and its global ramifications.
“This is a tough message to receive at any time, and especially in the middle of an exceptionally intense news cycle,” they wrote.
After addressing the layoffs at the start of the morning meeting, Weiss shifted focus to current events.
“Let’s start with the war, if we could.”
