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Atlanta Journal-Constitution, CNN Money

Turner Cuts Will End Up Close to 1,500, Company Says. Included Will Be About 1,000 in the Metro Atlanta Area. CNN Reports About 300 Jobs — Close to 9 Percent of Its Workforce — Will Be Cut From CNN Worldwide

Oct 6, 2014  •  Post A Comment

“Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc. will cut its workforce by about 10 percent, or 1,475 workers, in the coming weeks through layoffs, buyouts and other measures, the company announced Monday,” reports Christopher Seward in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The story reports: “Atlanta-based Turner, which is owned by Time Warner, said 975 of the job reductions will be in metro Atlanta, which is taking the brunt of the cuts. In addition to TNT, Turner’s holdings include CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network, truTV, HLN and other networks and online sites.”

The article notes that Turner has 5,500 full-time employees in the Atlanta area and a total of about 14,000 full-time employees worldwide.

Turner has not been losing money, but “The company said the cuts are being made to reduce redundancies, focus resources and prioritize investment in programming, monetization and innovation,” according to the article.

Brian Stelter, the former New York Times media reporter who now works for CNN, wrote a piece online today for CNN Money that says, in part, “Within CNN Worldwide, where the workforce totals roughly 3,500, about 300 positions will be cut, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plan, totaling 8.5%.”

Stelter added, “About 130 of the CNN reductions are being achieved through voluntary buyouts, the person said. … The remainder of the CNN positions, about 170, will be cut through layoffs.”

The Stelter article also reports: “The eliminations ‘are at all levels of 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 CEO John Martin said in a memorandum to staffers.

” ‘Those whose jobs are impacted will receive every consideration and the respect they are due, starting with severance pay for transition,’ Martin wrote. ‘Whatever their job title, business unit or location, they have contributed to the success story that is Turner Broadcasting, and they leave with our thanks and sincere best wishes.’ ”

The layoffs are expected during  the next two weeks.

Stelter ends his article with this information: “Separately on Monday, Turner renewed its multi-billion-dollar investment in the NBA games it televises on TNT. Turner and another NBA partner, ESPN, together agreed to a deal that is said to be worth $24 billion over nine years.”

TVWeek reported earlier today that that valuation “is more than double what the two networks have been paying” before the contract extensions.

the brands of Turner Broadcasting

One Comment

  1. For the sake of a promising future for CNN, I hope Jeff Zucker’s name is at the top of the layoff list…(oh, and forget the severance, he’s already been paid way too much).

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