CNN to Lay Off 6% of Staff, Focuses on Digital Reboot

CNN plans to trim around 200 positions—roughly 6% of its workforce—as it pivots away from declining cable viewership and prepares to launch a fresh streaming platform. The company’s new CEO, Mark Thompson, frames the cuts as a tough but necessary step amid “profound changes in how people consume news,” pointing to cord-cutting and shifting audience habits as major factors dragging down prime-time TV ratings.

Despite the layoffs, Thompson reveals that overall employee numbers should remain stable over the course of the year. Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is injecting $70 million into CNN’s push for new digital initiatives, including product development and technology hires. Thompson, who took the reins in 2023, has emphasized that cable broadcast “can’t define us anymore,” underlining the network’s ambition to reach audiences through smartphones, streaming, and other interactive formats.

Executives see a dual path forward: bolster online offerings while seeking fresh angles to regain trust in an increasingly crowded media space. The upcoming streaming service sits at the heart of that plan, and CNN leaders say it marks the start of a multi-year effort to adapt and thrive beyond traditional TV.