CNN announces around 200 layoffs as it tries to modernize the business

Warner Bros. Discovery CNN announced Thursday that it will cut about 6% of its total staff, or about 210 employees, as it refocuses the business around a global digital audience.

CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced the job losses in a memo to staff on Thursday, confirming CNBC’s report on Wednesday that cuts were coming. In the memo, Thompson noted that CNN does not expect total staff to decline “much” this year because the company plans to invest $70 million in new digital plans.

“I know that whatever the total number of job losses, the impact on the people involved can be immense,” Thompson wrote in the memo, obtained by CNBC. “The process of change is essential if we are to prosper in the future, but I recognize and regret its very real human consequences.”

The layoffs come as CNN is reorganizing its linear television programming and developing digital subscription products. The cuts will help CNN reduce production costs and consolidate teams, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss non-public thinking. Certain shows produced in New York or Washington may be moved to Atlanta, where production can be done more economically, the people said.

For the most part, the job cuts will not affect CNN’s most recognizable names, who are under contract, the people said. CNN has around 3,500 employees worldwide.

A CNN spokesperson declined to comment beyond Thompson’s statement.

CNN announced several new initiatives in the memo. The company is planning a new way for digital subscribers to stream CNN outside of CNN Max, which exists within Warner Bros. Discovery’s broader Max streaming service. CNN plans to announce details of the content “in the coming months,” Thompson said in the memo to staff. CNN planned to launch its own streaming service, CNN+, in 2022, but the service was closed almost immediately by Chris Licht, who had been appointed to take over as CEO.

In October, CNN launched a digital paywall, charging the site’s most frequent users $3.99 per month. The news organization’s goal is to reach $1 billion in revenue by 2030.

CNN plans to hire at least 100 new jobs in the coming months to build a broader digital presence, investing in products and technology, as well as “new high-quality journalism and storytelling.” Part of that investment will go toward a “lifestyle-oriented digital product” that CNN is developing.

CNN is also revamping its linear television programming in the United States and internationally.