CNN’s CEO on Jan. 23 said that the company is planning to lay off about 200 employees as part of a restructuring effort.
CEO Mark Thompson said in a memorandum to staff members that the job cuts, which will be within CNN’s television business, will eventually be offset by new hires for CNN’s digital plans, which include a series of subscription products.
“Our objective is a simple one: to shift CNN’s gravity towards the platforms and products where the audience themselves are shifting,” Thompson wrote in the memo.
CNN’s ratings have been tumbling in recent years, and especially after President Donald Trump won the 2024 election. The network fired 100 people, or about 3 percent of its workforce, in 2024.
CNN recently unveiled a subscription service that involves readers paying for a subscription in order to access some articles. Subscribers pay $3.99 a month.
“Only after users consume a certain number of free articles will they be prompted to subscribe,” Alex MacCallum, a CNN executive vice president, told staffers when the service was rolled out.
“In addition to unlimited access to CNN.com’s articles, subscribers will receive benefits like exclusive election features, original documentaries, a curated daily selection of our most distinctive journalism, and fewer digital ads.”
Thompson, the former CEO of The New York Times, took over at CNN in 2023.
He told workers Thursday that CNN’s goal is to develop a way for digital subscribers to stream news programming on any of their devices.
Corporate parent Warner Bros. Discovery is kicking in $70 million to implement the new plans, he said.
CNN is also shuffling its weekday lineup, the company said. Wolf Blitzer’s show will shift from 10 a.m. to noon, with Pamela Brown as a co-anchor. The show will replace a program that had been hosted by former White House reporter Jim Acosta.
Acosta is remaining with the network, and executives are trying to figure out a new time slot for him, a CNN spokesperson said.
Business correspondent Rahel Solomon will anchor a new show that airs at 5 a.m. while Audie Cornish, a CNN podcast host, will get a new program that starts at 6 a.m.
Thompson said the new lineup will bring “energy and competitive edge.” It’s slated to launch in March.
