The much-talked-about layoffs set to hit CNN are now officially underway.
In a memo to staff sent Wednesday, CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht wrote that the layoffs have now started. He said the layoffs would initially focus on its paid contributors’ staff and then shift to full-time CNN staff on Thursday.
In trimming down its paid contributors staff, Licht said that the network is undergoing a “recalibrated reporting strategy.”
Regarding how affected employees will know if they have been laid off, Licht said, “you will learn more through an in-person meeting or via Zoom, depending on your location. In those meetings, you will receive information specific to you about notice period or any severance that would apply, and your anticipated last day.”
He also clarified that any employee eligible to receive a bonus will still be able to receive the 2022 bonuses.
Read Licht’s memo to staff below, tweeted out by the network’s media reporter Oliver Darcy.
November 30, 2022
To my CNN colleagues,
Our people are the heart and soul of this organization. It is incredibly hard to say
goodbye to any one member of the CNN team, much less many. I recently described this
process as a gut punch, because I know that is how it feels for all of us.
Today we will notify a limited number of individuals, largely some of our paid
contributors, as part of a recalibrated reporting strategy. Tomorrow, we will notify
impacted employees, and tomorrow afternoon I will follow up with more details on these
changes.
It will be a difficult time for everyone. If your job has been impacted, you will learn more
through an in-person meeting or via Zoom, depending on your location. In those
meetings, you will receive information specific to you about notice period or any
severance that would apply, and your anticipated last day. I want to be clear that
everyone who is bonus eligible will still receive their 2022 bonuses, which are
determined by company performance.
I know these changes affect both our departing colleagues and those who remain, and
we have resources designed to support you. I will include a link to those resources in my
follow up email tomorrow.
Let’s take care of each other this week.
Chris