‘Noticeable change’: CNN hints at jobs cuts this year

CNN has hinted at budget cuts and layoffs before the end of this year, according to the New York Times. In a memo to employees, CNN chairman Chris Licht said that concerns over the global economy had forced him to re-evaluate the company’s priorities, observing that he would make a “noticeable change” to the organisation.

Licht said that executives would look into spending across the business. “These changes will not be easy, because it will affect people, budgets and projects.”

CNN will have operating expenses of about $882 million this year, according to estimates from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the NYT reported, adding that “even a single-digit percentage cut from that budget would shave millions of dollars and potentially dozens of jobs from the network”.

In his memo, Licht said that he would aim to protect CNN’s newsgathering, pointing out that he would “not allow these changes to affect our position as the world’s leading news source”. He also said that he planned to look for measures to invest in the company’s digital business. 

According to CNBC, CNN’s profit is set to drop below $1 billion this year for the first time since 2016, when Donald Trump was elected president. The valuation of its parent firm Warner Bros. Discovery has nearly been cut in half this year as investors have lowered their expectations on global streaming subscriber growth and macroeconomic pressures have pressured advertising revenue, the portal reported.

Licht began a business review soon after he took charge in May.