CBS News to Slash 6% of Workforce, End CBS Radio Operations by May Amid Efforts to Remain Competitive

CBS News to Cut 6% of Workforce, Citing Need to Remain Competitive

On 20 March, CBS News will implement a workforce reduction of 6%, impacting approximately 60 employees, according to internal memo obtained by Bloomberg. The news network, owned by Paramount Skydance Corporation, will notify affected staff by the end of the day.

The job cuts are part of CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss's efforts to revamp the news network and bring a "streaming mentality" to the organization. Weiss aims to boost ratings and compete with rival networks ABC and NBC. As part of her strategy, CBS News has added 19 new contributors and restructured operations to include news coverage on digital platforms.

The workforce reduction is not the only change taking place at CBS News. The network is also shutting down its nearly 100-year-old radio news service, CBS News Radio, which will cease operations on 22 May. The service, which has provided material to an estimated 700 stations across the United States, will end its top-of-the-hour news roundups.

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The decision to shut down CBS News Radio was made as part of planned layoffs and amid a shift in radio station programming strategies and challenging economic times. Bari Weiss and Tom Cibrowski, President of CBS News, noted in a memo that the decision was "necessary" but "not easy."