Sinclair Lays Off 5% of Workforce, Blames Covid-19

By Kevin Eck 

Sinclair Broadcast Group is laying off 5% of its workforce because of Covid-19.

A Sinclair spokesperson told TVSpy that the company has 9,211 employees, which means about 460 people will lose their jobs. CNN Business says employees were told about the layoffs yesterday.

“The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be felt across all sectors of the economy, something that can have a profound impact on a company as diversified as ours,” Sinclair said in a statement. “From local businesses and advertisers to distributors and partners, no component of our business’s ecosystem has been fully shielded from the impact of the global pandemic. In response to this, we are currently undergoing enterprise-wide reductions across our workforce, including corporate headquarters, to ensure we are well-positioned for future success. These reductions represent approximately five percent of our workforce.”

Advertisement

The station group owns, operates and/or provides services to 190 television stations in 88 markets and owns and/or operates 23 RSN brands.

In its fourth-quarter financial report released in February, Sinclair said total revenue decreased 7% year over year, while adjusted EBITDA increased 37% in that same time period.

Advertisement