NBC News is clearing out its newsroom ahead of parent company NBCUniversal’s impending split. The organization plans to lay off 100 to 150 staffers as the larger company undergoes its divorce proceedings, Variety reports. It apparently couldn’t let those employees go without playing a little mind game, however. The trade reports that “many” of the departing staffers will be encouraged to reapply for one of 140 open roles that remain active—despite the layoffs—across the company’s news operations. Additionally, about a dozen of the eliminated roles are being “repurposed” as new roles, meaning those staffers will have the unique pleasure of applying for what will probably look at least a bit like the job they already had. (Representatives from NBC News did not immediately reply to The A.V. Club‘s request for comment on this story.)
The cuts represent between seven and eight percent of the news operations’ staff, per Variety. At least they aren’t coming totally out of the blue. Employees have reportedly anticipated this for weeks, as NBC News Group, the umbrella division that represents NBC News as well as CNBC and MSNBC, which will both be housed under new spin-off company Versant, is being split in two along with the parent company. Revenue from the latter two networks that previously supported the entire news operation will soon be funneled to Versant. Still, there may be some hope for laid off employees who want to stay with the company but don’t want to just reapply for the same old jobs. Last week, NBC News Group Chairman Cesar Conde discussed plans to launch a new subscription product for mobile audiences and grow the company’s focus on sports, Variety reports.
Unfortunately, NBC News employees aren’t the only newsroom staffers bracing for cuts. Paramount Skydance is expected to slash up to 10 percent of CBS News’ staff as new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss settles into her role. (A memo she sent to staff last week asking “how you spend your working hours” certainly didn’t help morale.) CNN also laid off around 6 percent of its workforce earlier this year.
