CNN has announced it is laying off 200 staff from its struggling TV division, as part of CEO Mark Thompson’s long-in-the works restructuring plan to put emphasis on a digital future.
In a statement Thursday morning, Thompson warned that future is still unclear. He told The New York Times if CNN does ‘not follow the audiences to the new platforms with real conviction and scale, [its] future prospects will not be good.’
The firings were announced in the morning and will affect the network’s traditional TV operations. However, It remains unclear if any of big names were affected.
Thompson – once the chief executive of The Times – told the paper he is replacing Jim Acosta’s 10 am show with ‘The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown,’ confirming reports that emerged last week.
At the time, the station slammed those reports as ‘speculation.’ The network is now reportedly in talks with Acosta – an anchor who regularly found himself at odds with a then-president Trump – about a new role.
He also told his staff the future of the network is digital and giving people the news they want, when they want it – rather than expecting them to tune into shows scheduled for set times.
CNN has suffered historically-bad ratings in recent months.
The network has warned reporters and anchors not to fill its airwaves with anti-Trump rants like many did during President Trump’s previous term in office.
CNN boss Mark Thompson, pictured, announced 200 layoffs from the network’s traditional TV operation on Thursday morning
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