Bari Weiss Reportedly Planning ‘Imminently’ to Layoff Dozens of Staffers at CBS News

(Photo by Alberto E. Tamargo/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

CBS News chief Bari Weiss is reportedly planning the “imminent” layoff of dozens of staffers as she looks to remake the network for the digital age.

Weiss first made mention of the cuts several weeks, according to Business Insider — as she told CBS News employees that a “tsunami of technological change” could lead to changes at the network.

“I can’t stand up here and tell you that in a moment of incredible transformation that that’s not going to mean transformation of our workforce,” Weiss told staffers at a late-January town hall meeting.

During the meeting, Weiss said CBS was shifting away from “commodity news” in favor of exclusive reports that can’t be found “anywhere else.”

“If you can get what we’re selling in five other places, in 10 other places, in 100 other places — that’s probably not a thing we need to double down on,” Weiss said.

Weiss also indicated she wants CBS News to attain digital dominance in the field, and said she’s “looking to hire more people who can help CBS transform into a digital-focused company,” Business Insider reported.

“Our strategy until now has been to cling to the audience that remains on broadcast television. I’m here to tell you that if we stick to that strategy, we’re toast,” Weiss said.

Variety reported back in February that Weiss was considering a “new round of layoffs” that could affect “at least 15% of staff” and could begin “as early as March and late as May.”

Weiss was named editor in chief of CBS News last October by Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison. Since then, high-profile journalists such as Justice Department correspondent Scott MacFarlane , 60 Minutes correspondent Anderson Cooper and former evening news anchors John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois have left the network.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!