Layoffs hit CNN, 6% of staff terminated

Long-planned layoffs officially hit CNN on Thursday when roughly 6% of the network’s workforce was let go. 

CNN has painted the layoffs as a critical step toward securing the network’s future, telling staffers that “irreversible shifts in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news” have impacted its business model. About 200 jobs were eliminated as a result. 

“Our objective is a simple one: to shift CNN’s gravity towards the platforms and products where the audience themselves are shifting and, by doing that, to secure CNN’s future as one of the world’s greatest news organizations,” CNN CEO Mark Thompson said in an internal memo obtained by Fox News Digital. 

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CNN terminated about 200 employees on Thursday. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“America and the world need high quality, fair-minded, trustworthy sources of news more than ever,” Thompson continued. “This difficult and sometimes painful process of change is the only way to make sure we can still provide it.”

On-air talent is not expected to be impacted by the cuts. 

CNN also announced that it has “begun development on a new way for audiences at home and abroad to access a TV-style version of CNN on any device they choose” via a new streaming service. 

CNN pointed to a $70 million investment from parent company Warner Bros. Discovery that will eventually result in new job opportunities. Thompson said Thursday’s cuts are “first and foremost about investing in that future,” and suggested overall headcount won’t drop too much in 2025 when plans are finalized. 

“That’s because of the $70 million we’re investing in our digital plans and the many new jobs it will pay for. Some of that money’s going in product and tech, but a lot is also going into new high-quality journalism and storytelling. It’s what we stand for,” he wrote.  

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Long-planned layoffs officially hit CNN on Thursday when roughly 6% of the network’s workforce was let go.  (Getty / Getty Images)

“It’s also the heart of every successful digital news strategy. At the same time, I know that whatever the total number of job losses, the impact on the individuals involved can be immense,” he continued. “The process of change is essential if we’re to thrive in the future, but I both acknowledge and regret its very real human consequences.”

Thompson called the cuts “an unwelcome but inevitable part of the change process.”

“We will aim to contact every colleague who will be impacted by these changes as soon as we possibly can – and will of course help and support them in any way we can thereafter,” he wrote.  

CNN has struggled in the ratings department for years and finished 2024 with its smallest audience in network history among both total day viewers and among the advertiser-coveted demographic of adults aged 25-54. 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks as CNN moderator Anderson Cooper looks on during a Presidential Town Hall event at Sun Center Studios in Aston, Pennsylvania, on October 23, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

Fox News Digital previously reported in November that CNN would face major layoffs by March and that its impact on the network would be “very meaningful.”

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Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.