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CNN is gearing up for staff reductions this week as CEO Mark Thompson advances a comprehensive digital transformation, with more significant layoffs on the horizon due to a potential merger reshaping the network’s landscape.
The news outlet, under the ownership of Warner Bros. Discovery, plans to reduce its workforce by “a few dozen” employees. This strategic move aims to modernize CNN’s expansive global team of over 3,000, as detailed in the Status newsletter.
The impending job cuts will primarily affect positions not aligned with growth areas, signifying CNN’s ongoing shift from traditional cable broadcasting to a digital-centric approach, according to Status.
This decision follows a previous wave of layoffs under Thompson, who last year cut approximately 6% of CNN’s staff. This effort is part of a broader strategy to transition the network from its conventional cable origins towards robust digital expansion.
While this week’s layoffs might seem moderate, they are likely to be eclipsed by more substantial job losses if Paramount acquires CNN in its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Paramount agreed last month to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a deal valued at about $31 per share, or roughly $110 billion, fending off a rival bid from Netflix, which had previously struck an agreement to buy the company’s studios and streaming assets before walking away.
Paramount’s deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, which is still subject to government approval, comes months after the company merged with Skydance Media in August 2025 under CEO David Ellison.
Under Ellison, Paramount’s CBS News division has already undergone sweeping layoffs as part of a broader restructuring — cuts that could foreshadow similar moves at CNN if the deal is approved.
CBS News earlier this month cut about 6% of its workforce — roughly 60 to 70 employees — as part of a sweeping restructuring under new leadership.
The layoffs were outlined in a memo from editor in chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski, who said parts of the newsroom must shrink to fund digital and audience-growth initiatives.
The network also shuttered its nearly century-old CBS News Radio division, eliminating all jobs in the unit and ending service to roughly 700 affiliate stations effective May 22.
Once Paramount takes control of CNN, David Ellison is expected to combine it with CBS News — a move likely to spark sweeping job cuts as duplicative roles are eliminated, according to Status.
CNN does not break out its financials, but proxy filings show the network is projected to generate roughly $1.8 billion in revenue this year, with its core business expected to decline.
“The day of reckoning is coming, and they’re going to have to cut costs,” Derek Reisfield, a former CBS executive, told The Post.
“You are going to see dramatic changes in the industry continue.”
Reisfield added that any combination of CNN and CBS News would likely involve consolidating overlapping operations, saying “you can combine a number of functions and save a lot of money.”
The Post has sought comment from CNN.