CBS News cuts roughly 6% of staff and closes CBS News Radio

CBS News has cut roughly 6% of its staff and will close CBS News Radio, ending a service with a 99-year history.

The layoffs are the second round at CBS News since Skydance took control of Paramount last summer. CBS News has about 1,100 employees, meaning dozens of workers are leaving in the latest reduction.

Radio service to end on May 22

CBS News Radio is scheduled to go off the air on May 22. The closure affects its 700 affiliated stations, which have two months to arrange replacement programming.

In staff communications, CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski linked the radio shutdown to changes in radio station programming strategies and challenging economic conditions. A source familiar with the cuts said Weiss had explored ways to preserve the radio network, but its limited revenue made that unworkable.

The outlet said the closure comes as CBS News reallocates newsroom resources. Executives told staff that parts of the newsroom would need to shrink as the organisation invests in areas it considers necessary to remain competitive and reach audiences in new places.

Part of a wider CBS News overhaul

The latest cuts are being viewed as part of Weiss's plans for CBS News. She was installed as editor-in-chief last October after David Ellison's Skydance took over Paramount, with a mandate to restore trust and regain audience.

CBS News also conducted layoffs in October. That earlier round affected much of the organisation and largely occurred before Weiss arrived, while the latest reduction is more closely associated with her direction for the network.

People who had spoken with Weiss said she saw some CBS operations as obsolete and identified low staff morale and resistance to change in parts of the organisation. Further changes are expected in coming months, particularly as talent contracts expire.

No AI link cited for the cuts

The reported reasons for the layoffs and radio closure are newsroom resource allocation, shifts in radio programming strategies, economic pressures and a changing news business. The available information does not identify artificial intelligence or automation as a factor in the job reductions.

CBS News employees affected by the layoffs were due to be notified by the end of the day. Radio staff will continue operating the network until May despite the scheduled closure.

The cuts come while Paramount awaits regulatory approval for its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, including CNN. Sources at CBS said the possibility of Paramount owning CNN in the future did not factor into planning for the current layoffs. Regulatory approval for the Paramount-WBD deal is thought to be at least six months away, and the companies must operate separately until then.

Sources

• CBS News lays off 6% of staff and shutters radio division, kickstarting a Bari Weiss-led overhaul | CNN Business
• CBS News lays off 6% of staff and shutters radio division, kickstarting a Bari Weiss-led overhaul | CNN Business