NBC News Axes 150 Staffers in First Major Staff Reduction in Years Amid Spin-Off From MSNBC, CNBC

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NBC News has laid off roughly 150 staff members in its biggest reduction in years as the network severs ties with its cable siblings MSNBC and CNBC in a sweeping reorganization that executives say will “position the company for future success.”

Employees learned their fate in a three-minute Zoom meeting early Wednesday, led by executive vice president of editorial Catherine Kim, who informed staff that notices would follow immediately.

“This will be a difficult day for a lot of us,” she said.

NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde later wrote that “these decisions are necessary to remain strong as an industry leader,” but “are not easy and are never taken lightly,” according to Status.

The cuts, amounting to about seven percent of the newsroom, hit across divisions and follows NBCUniversal’s decision to spin off its cable networks into a new company, Versant, a move executives say will allow NBC News to “stand on its own” as a digital-first operation.

The retrenchment also comes against a broader political backdrop. Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has moved to “terminate radical D.E.I.” in the federal government, setting off a cascade of corporate retreats against diversity initiatives.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr has publicly pressed media companies to scrap such programs, which included a probe into NBC’s parent company Comcast earlier this year.