The company said Monday that it will cut about 10% of its total employees.The announcement follows an offer of voluntary buyouts to 600 veteran employees in August, part of an overall cost-cutting effort at the company’s news, entertainment, kids, young adult and sports networks and businesses, as well as corporate functions, in 18 Turner locations around the world.
Turner Broadcasting Cutting 1,475 Jobs
NEW YORK (AP) — Turner Broadcasting, the parent of the CNN, TBS and TNT networks, is eliminating about 1,475 jobs, or about 10 percent of its total employees.
Monday’s announcement follows an offer of voluntary buyouts to 600 veteran employees in August, part of an overall cost-cutting effort at the Atlanta-based broadcasting company founded by Ted Turner.
Turner said Monday that the restructuring includes cutting jobs, eliminating unfilled positions and voluntary departures.
The eliminations will affect 18 different locations and will come from its news, entertainment, sports, and business units as well as corporate positions. A spokesman said Turner is eliminating 975 jobs in Atlanta, where it is based. That will reduce its workforce in that city to about 5,500.
The company also plans to add about 150 new positions in areas of investment and growth.
Turner’s CNN division has struggled in recent years to find a programming strategy that will allow it to get and keep viewers as it competes with cable news rivals Fox News and MSNBC. And TNT and TBS, which once relied heavily on reruns of old broadcast shows to fill their schedules, are under increased pressure to create more original programming.
BRAND CONNECTIONS
Turner Broadcasting System, which also owns The Cartoon Network, HLN, TruTV and Turner Classic Movies, is a unit of New York-based Time Warner Inc., the company behind HBO and Warner Bros. studios.
Shares of Time Warner fell 90 cents to close at $73.82 Monday, and were unchanged in after-hours trading.
Comments (9)
Don Thompson says:
October 6, 2014 at 5:58 pm
It must feel just super to get a Turner pink slip hours after the cable network reportedly agreed to the pay the NBA $1.2 billion annually for the next 9 years for TV rights $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Please follow me on Twitter @TedatACA
Wagner Pereira says:
October 6, 2014 at 6:22 pm
Wonder how you will feel when you get your pink slip once ACA drops their Video Broadcast Services. Cannot wait for that day!!!!$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Please follow me on Twitter @NotTedatACA
John Bagwell says:
October 6, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Why don’t you then include TNT into your local choice bill that singles out broadcasters Ted?
Jeff Groves says:
October 7, 2014 at 11:55 am
With Pay-TV losing more and more viewers each and every day Media Companies have to find ways to make more money, so in addition to raising subscription fees, adding more commercials every hour and filling the airwaves with cheaply-produced “reality” shows they are now saying the H-E-(Double Hockey Sticks) with our employees and kicking them out. This is a death spiral folks, and it will only end in ruination!
Wagner Pereira says:
October 7, 2014 at 6:55 pm
Another clueless post. Media Companies are not adding more commercials every hour. You really are SO out of touch.
Jeff Groves says:
October 7, 2014 at 8:51 pm
No the number of commercials hasn’t increased in the last few years, Now they are laying off employees, leaving the rest to work much harder for their hard-earned money.
Commercials HAVE increased over the years. Right now I am watching one episode each from all three versions of THE TWILIGHT ZONE. (Original, 1985 and 2002 versions). The Original TZ has episodes that are 25 -26 minutes long, the 1985 version, which was a hour-long show had episodes lasting 45-48 minutes. The 2002 version has episodes lasting 20-22 minutes each. Feel free to check them out for yourself (If you have the DVDs).+
Wagner Pereira says:
October 8, 2014 at 4:11 pm
There you go contradicting your original post “With Pay-TV losing more and more viewers EACH AND EVERY DAY Media Companies have to find ways to make more money….adding more commercials every hour”. Try getting it correct before you post. Guess those 40k hours of DVD and VHS tapes are not exciting enough that you have to come here and post crap that is not factual. I guess every hermit cannot survive in the past.
Keith ONeal says:
October 7, 2014 at 10:54 pm
Now, you know why CNN is referred to as Chicken Noodle News!
Wagner Pereira says:
October 9, 2014 at 5:46 am
And people were up in arms that Fox would cut a few jobs if they took over TW. ROFLMAO. Looks like staying put was the worst of all scenarios!