After weeks of reports that CBS News could slash up to 15% of its employees, network staffers are bracing for impact.
Business Insider reported on Thursday that layoffs at the network’s news division were expected “imminently,” while Status later reported that they were expected to begin Friday.
“It’s stressful to have this constantly hanging over our heads,” a CBS News staffer told TheWrap on Thursday.
It was unclear which departments at the network could face cuts or how many employees might be laid off. But how the culling plays out would signal Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss’s priorities as she continues to reshape the network. Weiss, who took over the news division in October with no network television experience, has proved controversial, with some who’ve left complaining about a politicized shift.
CBS News declined to comment.
The layoffs would be the first at CBS News since Weiss laid out her vision in a January town hall to make the network “fit for purpose in the 21st century.” When one employee asked about the prospect of layoffs during that presentation, Weiss said she couldn’t say there would not be staff changes.
The network has been in flux since CEO David Ellison appointed Weiss the network’s leader after purchasing her anti-woke site, The Free Press. CBS News first laid off roughly 100 people in October in cuts tied to Paramount’s merger with Skydance, ones that Weiss did not directly impose. Some prominent executives, correspondents and producers have also departed.
Weiss came under scrutiny for her decision in December to abruptly hold a “60 Minutes” story on the Trump administration’s decision to send migrants to an El Salvadorian megaprison. She has faced claims inside and outside the network of politicizing the news division as Paramount vied to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery.
Tony Dokoupil’s tenure as anchor of “CBS Evening News” has been rocky. He’s put up weak ratings and faced criticism of taking a Trump-friendly posture; at least 11 people at the newscast took voluntary buyouts.
“60 Minutes” correspondent Anderson Cooper decided not to renew his contract, while justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane and “CBS Mornings” executive producer Shawna Thomas both revealed plans to leave. And Peter Attia, a contributor Weiss hired in January, also resigned after emails revealed his extensive ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The network is also currently negotiating a new contract with its streaming unit CBS News 24/7, the staffers of which staged a 24-hour walkout on Tuesday after contract talks broke down. Both sides continued discussions on Wednesday.
Between the widespread exits and the looming cuts, the staffer described the mood as “demoralizing.”
“But it’s also become a new norm,” the staffer said. “If we survive this round there’s a feeling that there will just be another one after the Warner merger.”
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