CNN has already started laying off the first of what is expected to be hundreds of staffers as mainstream media begins cutting jobs as Donald Trump returns to the White House.
In addition, the struggling cable network has plans to make a major overhaul of its TV lineup, try to expand its digital subscriber base and move production to its home base in Atlanta.
The layoffs were initially reported in November and follow approximately 100 cuts the network made over the summer.
At least one major producer reportedly learned on Wednesday that they were out of a job, and many more will be told on Thursday, Status reported.
There are also rumors that many shows are moving from New York and Washington to Atlanta, where production costs are cheaper, according to CNBC.
Insiders told Puck in November that the layoffs would likely be closer to the production side.
CNN's new CEO, Mark Thompson, said at a meeting last month that the layoffs were not intended to cut costs but to “change CNN” and “make it better.” Puck reported that he told staffers “unbiased, frank reporting on the incoming president.”
Employees of the network describe the atmosphere as 'anxious' and 'nauseous', as meetings take place behind closed doors to determine the future of the network.
CNN has already started laying off the first of what is expected to be hundreds of staffers as the mainstream media begins cutting jobs and Donald Trump returns to the White House
CNN's new CEO, Mark Thompson, said at a meeting last month that the layoffs were not intended to cut costs but to “change CNN” and “make it better.”
Their competitors plan to do the same, as NBC News also plans to lay off “several dozen” employees on Thursday.
ABC News employees — following the network's highly publicized settlement with Trump — are also concerned that cuts are coming, though no specific date has been set.
However, a source at the network said that 'everyone is tense' and despite all three being 'highly profitable', their business models are said to be broken.
Status added that more cuts are likely in the coming years.
President Trump said on Truth Social: “MSDNC is even worse than CNN. They shouldn't even have the right to broadcast. Only in America!'
DailyMail.com has contacted CNN, ABC News and NBC News for comment.
The network just came off an embarrassing lawsuit after they discredited an Afghan war veteran by falsely accusing him of running a “black market” for evacuations in Afghanistan and having to pay him $5 million in damages.
The network has been grappling with declining ratings and promises from conservative lawmakers, including Trump himself, to crack down on what they claim is an unfair liberal bias.
President Trump commented on the issue on Truth Social
While big names like Kaitlan Collins will be spared from the layoffs, the entire TV lineup could face a restructuring
The rumblings, first reported by Puck News, come as stars like Anderson Cooper continue to take home salaries of $20 million despite declining ratings
CNN's exodus was first reported in November as stalwart Chris Wallace, and amid reports, senior stars like Wolf Blitzer and Jake Tapper have both been denied raises.
The highest-paid remaining stars include Anderson Cooper – who rakes in $20 million a year – Erin Burnett ($6 million) and rising star Kaitlan Collins ($3 million).
As a result, reporters and correspondents will have to catch up, they said — describing how on-air staff “will be asked to take on more responsibilities once handled by teams of producers and production assistants.”
Dylan Byers of Puck News wrote: 'Excess assignments will be cut and several divisions will be reduced in size or even eliminated.
“Some of the on-air talent will likely be affected as well,” he further revealed.
Sources who spoke to the reporter, who spent three years at CNN before founding Puck, added that the threatened layoffs are part of an overarching plan — one that puts a premium on the channel's digital platforms.
The man behind it, they said, is none other than new CEO Mark Thompson – the former New York Times boss who was brought in to lead the Warner Bros.-led network. Discovery parent company to review.
The old BBC boss filled the position left by then-flagging leader Chris Licht last August, and ratings have since fallen by more than 20 percent.
CNN plans to eliminate some of its top talent in a round of post-election layoffs, according to a new report based on insider insight
The news also comes as veteran anchors Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer were reportedly denied raises recently – after already pulling in salaries of $3 million and $7 million respectively
Under Licht — a tenure that lasted just over a year — the channel fell from the most-watched cable news channel on election nights to one of the least-watched.
In 2016, when it was led by now-ousted leader Jeff Zucker, it was the most-watched network overall — a distinction now held by Fox News.
At the time, CNN averaged 13.3 million viewers in primetime. Today there are only about 800,000.
Right-leaning Fox hosts like Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity and Greg Gutfeld, meanwhile, average 2.8 million viewers in the same time slots — the most in a field currently impacted by streaming and other forms of media.
Making matters worse was CNN's struggles on Election Day — a day when it would have scored a decisive ratings victory eight years ago.
However, after a Trump presidency and a Biden administration term, it lost to MSNBC in terms of ratings – something never seen before as it only drew 5.1 million sets of eyes that night.
MSNBC, meanwhile, pulled in 6 million — a number nearly twice as big as Fox News' 10.3 million.
The numbers, which aired this week in the form of Nielsen statistics, appear to show a shifting field when it comes to cable news — one that will seemingly continue with Trump's second term.
Veteran news anchor Chris Wallace announced in November that he will leave CNN after several years — and after earning an $8.5 million salary. Insiders previously said they were considering a pay cut for the 77-year-old
The network's troubles over the past eight years have seen it replaced by Fox News as the top dog in the cable world. Pictured, Fox News hosts Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier on election night, where it beat CNN by nearly 5 million viewers
To counter this, CNN plans to create new features that will benefit Thompson's new digital-first vision, the unnamed insiders told Byers — with one source positing that the coming changes might even could provide a net gain to employees.
But if the insiders' warning turns out to be true, hundreds of others will lose their positions, the sources said. They describe to Byers a climate in the Manhattan office that is rife with “stress and high anxiety.”
As for highly paid figures like Cooper and Burnett, their fate remains uncertain.
Days earlier, The Ankler had reported that Tapper and Blitzer were denied raises and that officials were considering a pay cut for Wallace.
The newsletter also revealed how Tapper was instead released with a three-year contract – a contract that appears to have paid him the same $7 million annually as he had been making in recent years.
