Los Angeles Times
CBS News employees are bracing for a significant round of layoffs that will hit the news division, according to multiple sources. The budget tightening is expected to affect every newscast, including “60 Minutes,” the network’s crown jewel, although that show will likely suffer minimal losses.
People familiar with discussions about the cuts inside the news division have heard that the total number who could lose their jobs could reach as high as 100, or 7% of the approximately 1,400-person staff. A news executive disputed that, saying the final figure would be considerably lower.
The cuts were prompted by a desire to mitigate news-gathering costs and make the news division more of a financial contributor to parent company CBS Corp., the news executive said.
“Every year we look at where the resources are spent, and if theres a way to spend the resources more effectively, were going to do that,” said the executive, who declined to be named discussing personnel matters. More…