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CNN has revealed plans to lay off hundreds of employees as the embattled network’s chief executive warned of “profound and irreversible changes” in the way audiences engage with news.
In a memo to staff Thursday, CEO Mark Thompson said 200 jobs, or about 6 percent of CNN’s workforce, will be affected as CNN’s traditional cable TV business suffers a sharp decline in viewers.
The layoffs come as part of a comprehensive restructuring as the media group looks to the future beyond traditional television.
Thompson said overall headcount is not expected to fall as the company invests $70 million in its digital business, which it hopes will reach $1 billion in revenue by 2030.
CNN is investing in a TV-like subscription service that will be available on devices around the world, which it hopes will offset the decline of traditional linear TV programming. The group expects hundreds of new jobs to be created as a result, with the first 100 jobs to be announced and filled in the first half of 2025.
“Some of that money is going into products and technology, but a lot is also going into new high-quality journalism and storytelling,” Thompson said in a memo seen by the Financial Times.
CNN is in talks with distribution partners to launch a streaming service later this year.
Thompson, who was appointed CEO in 2023 with a mandate to restore the fortunes of the ailing cable network, has put digital growth at the center of his new strategy as the industry faces the challenge of the long-term decline of traditional television.
The broadcaster has struggled in a ratings war against Fox News on the right and MSNBC on the left. The trend was exposed this week as CNN drew only a fraction of the audience it previously enjoyed for presidential inaugurations.
Just 1.7 million households watched Trump’s inauguration on CNN on Monday between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. — down from 10 million in 2021. By comparison, more than 10 million viewers watched the inauguration on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News.
Overall television ratings for Monday’s inauguration were the lowest in a decade. Fewer than 25 million Americans watched Trump take the oath of office as US president, down from the nearly 34 million who watched Biden’s inauguration in 2021 and the 31 million who watched Trump’s ceremony in 2017, according to Nielsen data.
“The changes we are announcing today are part of this major news organization’s ongoing response to profound and irreversible changes in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news,” said Thompson. “From linear to digital, fixed to mobile, traditional long-form broadcasting to any number of different formats and use cases.”
He added that the shakeup was needed “to ensure CNN’s future as one of the world’s largest news organizations,” adding that “America and the world need high-quality, honest, reliable news sources more than ever.”
Thompson also announced further restructuring of CNN’s newsroom, after last year bringing in Alex MacCallum, a former New York Times lieutenant, to lead the transition to digital.
In the memo, Thompson said MacCallum has already established its first direct-to-consumer subscription product, video carousels on digital platforms and refreshed the CNN.com site.
Thompson highlighted further plans for digital video, the launch of CNN’s first lifestyle service and a new premium digital advertising platform.
He also announced changes and plans to cut costs for broadcasters’ domestic and international schedules.
