CNN is expected to announce a significant reduction in staff as early as Thursday according to reports by CNBC.
The layoffs come as the news organization plots a new course for the future through a broader global audience with an emphasis on digital. The cuts will reportedly help CNN cut production costs and consolidate teams according to the report.
The job cuts are also reportedly not expected to affect CNN’s biggest names as they are under contract. The news organization employs about 3,500 people.
A spokesperson for CNN would not confirm CNBC’s report but told TheWrap more information is forthcoming.
News of the layoff has been expected for weeks but now the cuts seem to be just around the corner. It was announced last week that CNN’s net worth had been cut in half in the last two years. In 2021, their worth was $4.4 billion which fell to $2.3 billion in 2023. That represents a 47% drop according to what the company shared during the network’s defamation trial last Friday.
“The numbers represent the Plaintiff’s interpretation of a subset of data as presented in litigation, and they do not represent financial data for the whole of CNN’s business,” a CNN spokesperson told TheWrap.
The net worth decline is in lock step with the networks viewership issues the past couple years. Following the 2024 election, CNN – along with MSNBC – both suffered a serious ratings hit. TheWrap reported in November that CNN’s viewership declined 27% in the weeks following Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris, with CNN averaging 367,000 total viewers post-election.
If the layoffs at CNN come to pass, they would join a number of outlets hit with cuts in the last few months. Vox, The Washington Post and the Huffington Post have all laid off a number of workers since the start of 2025.
