CNN Staff in a State of ‘Resignation’ as CEO Announces Revamp of Network, Job Cuts

Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via AP

CNN’s staff is in a state of “resignation” after CEO Mark Thompson announced layoffs of around 100 roles as part of a restructuring of the network geared towards a more digital future.

In a staff-wide memo sent Wednesday, Thompson announced a sweeping overhaul of the network, and plans to launch “CNN.com’s first subscription product” before the end of the year.

The transformation will result in 100 job cuts, which amounts to some 3% of CNN’s mighty 3,500-person newsroom.

The layoffs are the latest cuts to hit the network that has gone through a series of tumultuous leadership changes over the last few years. Thompson, a veteran news executive credited with helping to turn The New York Times into a modern news juggernaut, is seen internally as a best-case-scenario shepherd of the iconic news brand. Still, the traumas of the ouster of Jeff Zucker , the humiliating shuttering of CNN+, the disastrous Chris Licht era, and the ever-sagging ratings, have left employees with little to celebrate.

Indeed, CNN staffers who spoke to Mediaite on the condition of anonymity on Wednesday said the climate inside the network is one of despondence.

One high-level staffer described a feeling of “resignation” throughout the network. “We hear more changes are coming but we’ve lost the ability to be too invested in the outcome anymore,” they said.

Another network source speculated the cuts will hit the news side of the network. “Reading between the lines it feels like reporters and TV staff,” they said. “Subscribing again to AP, cutting shows, moving staff to digital and streaming, etc.”

In addition to the job cuts, the network is shuttering the opinion vertical of CNN.com, Variety’s Brian Steinberg reported .