CNN Cuts 200 Jobs, Invests $70 Million in Newsroom Overhaul

To survive competition in the era of streaming, Warner Bros. Discovery company is slashing CNN’s television workforce even more while simultaneously investing $70 million to focus on new digital products.

Last summer 100 jobs were cut at CNN.

According to a Bloomberg report Thursday (Jan. 23), CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson defended the cutting of another estimated 200 jobs in a staff memo. “The changes we’re announcing today are part of an ongoing response by this great news organization to profound shifts in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news,” he said.

The restructuring comes as CNN faces ongoing challenges, such as the erosion of pay TV subscription revenue as more consumers abandon traditional cable TV in favor of streaming video services.

And according to several reports, data presented during a recent defamation lawsuit revealed that CNN’s revenue decreased by 20% between 2021 and 2023.

Yet according to CNBC, CNN’s goal is to reach $1 billion in revenue by 2030. To get there, the reported $70 million commitment by Warner Bros. Discovery to support CNN’s digital transformation and expansion will fund the development of subscription-driven streaming news products tailored to consumers’ evolving viewing habits.

Thompson said in the memo that there are plans to “to develop a new way for digital subscribers at home and abroad to stream news programming from us on any device they choose,” according to Bloomberg. The report also noted the network has plans to launch a “lifestyle-oriented product” later this year.

In October, CNN.com introduced an online paywall that requires readers to pay $3.99 a month once they exceed their allotment of free articles, and some stories are only accessible by subscribers.

In the CNBC report, Thompson acknowledged the impact of the layoffs on affected employees but also indicated that there would be approximately 100 new positions focused on digital content that would eventually offset the job losses in the television division.