CNN eyes massive staff cuts as parent company prepares for breakup

The corporate breakup, scheduled to be completed by mid-2026, will separate Warner Bros. Discovery’s entertainment and streaming operations from its traditional cable television holdings. CNN will fall under the second group, which will be headed by current CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels.

"Putting a bean counter as CEO sends a very clear message: this is finally the beginning of the long-overdue correction of the Zucker-era excesses," one insider told Fox News, referencing former CNN chief Jeff Zucker.

Zucker, who led the company ahead of the 2022 merger between Discovery Inc. and WarnerMedia, was known for securing large salaries for anchors and producers. The insider said that under Wiedenfels, those days are numbered.

“It’s not just the overpriced talent. It’s the overpriced producers. The overpriced executives. The superfluous reporters who barely are on the air. All will either be exited or forced to take massive pay cuts,” the source added. “There will be massive layoffs and those remaining will be asked to do the work of their departed colleagues.”

Another former CNN staffer said, “There’s nothing but tears on the horizon for CNN... Their revenue model is in collapse, but it’s a slow death. Gunnar has about ten years to squeeze every last penny out of that place before rigor mortis.”

Former CNN reporter Dylan Byers, who now works for Puck, said in an opinion piece that there will be huge impacts for talents on both sides: “Why, for instance, would Gunnar pay Anderson Cooper $18 million a year when Kaitlan Collins draws the same ratings at roughly a fifth of the salary?”

May was CNN’s second-worst month ever in the key 25-54 age demographic, and the network is on track to post its lowest-rated year in that category.

Despite traditionally doing well in election years, estimates suggest CNN’s ad revenue will decline in 2025 to $499.2 million from $563.9 million the year prior, according to Variety.

Inside the company, executives continue to push back against the bad outlook. A Warner Bros. Discovery source said it’s premature to speculate about job cuts or restructuring, stating that recent rumors stem from uninformed speculation.

Wiedenfels himself expressed optimism about the future of cable operations during a recent investor call.

“You could reduce costs at CNN 50-60% with no change to ratings or revenue,” one insider claimed, predicting the network will eventually resemble HLN, which shut down live programming in 2022.