CNN begins layoffs for paid contributors, employees

CNN informed employees Wednesday that layoffs at the network are underway.

CEO Chris Licht sent an internal memo letting staff know that paid contributors affected by the layoffs will be alerted on Wednesday, according to a copy of the memo tweeted out by CNN reporter Oliver Darcy. Other staffers who are being laid off will be notified on Thursday.

“It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to any one member of the CNN team, much less many,” Mr. Licht wrote in the memo. “I recently described this process as a gut punch because I know how this is how it feels for all of us.”

The job cuts are coming as the company, and the broader economy, brace for an economic downturn.

Mr. Licht gave advance warning about the cuts in October, saying there is “widespread concern over the global economic outlook” and that the news network “must factor that risk into [its] long-term planning,” per CNN.   

Much of the job cuts are driven by a sharp drop in advertising revenue, according to the network.