A Massive News Company Is Now Laying Off 100 Staffers

July 10, 2024

A massive news company is now laying off 100 staffers after announcing a new digital subscription launch towards the end of the year.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson is finally putting forth broad restructuring plans for the network, planning for digital subscription product launches by the end of 2024 and staff reductions of 100 employees.

Thompson outlined his long-awaited digital vision in a memo to staff on Wednesday morning, which included plans to merge all of the network’s newsrooms, build out subscription offerings and lean heavily into digital video.

The CEO’s memo to staffers also noted that around 100 roles will be cut in the process, per TheWrap.

CNN currently operates with a workforce of more than 3,500 staffers.

“In addition to some new posts and opportunities we have opened up at CNN, we’re also announcing some staff reductions across the company today,” Thompson said.

“Wherever possible, we’ve closed open positions rather than target currently occupied roles.

However, some of our colleagues will learn today that their jobs are being eliminated or are at risk.”

“In the future our digital products need to do a far better job of reflecting CNN’s massive strength in video and anchoring/reporting talent,” Thompson continued.

“Video will be at the heart of our future and a re-imagined video experience on every platform – from pure digital to streaming, FAST channels and more – it is essential for CNN’s future.”

Thompson brought in Alex MacCallum earlier this year to spearhead the digital product development and on Wednesday the CEO announced that Ben Monnie, joining from Google, will report to her as SVP of product growth strategy.

Monnie also spent 10 years with the New York Times with both Thompson and MacCallum.

Thompson highlighted that the news media industry is undergoing significant changes in consumption.

“To me, the right response to this revolution is not despair but adaptation and innovation,” he said.

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Other Economy News Today

Applications for unemployment benefits now surge to new highs, a sign that the white-hot labor market is starting to cool off.

First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to 231,000, the highest level since August, per CNN.

Thursday’s data also showed that the number of continuing claims, or applications from people who have filed for unemployment for at least one week, was 1.78 million.

That’s an increase of 17,000 from the prior week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The latest numbers come less than a week after the monthly jobs report showed the US economy added just 175,000 positions in April, less than economists expected and a steep drop-off from prior months.

US employers have now added an average of 245,500 jobs per month, versus 2023’s 251,000-per-month average.

Still, hiring remains strong. Although the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% last month, it’s the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has held under 4%, matching a streak last seen in the late 1960s.

Weekly jobless claims data tends to be volatile but, while one week’s worth of data “does not a trend make,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds.

“We can no longer be sure that calm seas lie ahead for the US economy if today’s weekly jobless claims are any indication.”

“Company layoffs are picking up, hinting at caution on the part of companies as they weigh the outlook for the second half of the year,” he wrote in a note Thursday.

The Federal Reserve has been battling inflation by raising its key lending rate in the hopes of slowing the economy.

While the labor market has so far resisted those efforts, remaining white hot for the past 18 months despite 11 rate hikes from the central bank, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that demand has “cooled from its extremely high level of a couple of years ago.”

Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Economics said in a note Thursday: “We’d need to see at least a month of elevated readings to convince us that the trend really has turned.”

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Also Read: A Giant Company Now Announces Unexpected Layoffs in Virginia

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