NBC News is laying off 150 people — and asking some to reapply for open roles
Wednesday was a bad day for journalism and an absolutely rotten day at NBC News, where massive layoffs are underway.
The network has begun the painful process of laying off 150 employees, which accounts for about 7% of its staff. The cuts come as NBC Universal spins off cable outlets such as MSNBC, CNBC and USA Network into a new company called Versant. As part of that move, NBC News and MSNBC are no longer associated.
The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin reports that no anchors are being laid off.
However, there is a bit of a twist here. Variety’s Brian Steinberg reports, “Not all the staffers affected are set to depart. Many will be encouraged to apply for 140 active open roles across the company’s news operations. Approximately a dozen of the eliminated positions are being repurposed as new roles, and those affected have been encouraged to apply to those roles.”
Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model
The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.