CBS News Cuts 6 Percent of Staff and Shuts Down Historic Radio Division in Bari Weiss Overhaul

The corridors of CBS News headquarters on West 57th Street in Manhattan fell quieter last Friday as the network carried out its second major round of layoffs in six months, eliminating approximately 6 percent of its roughly 1,100-person workforce and shuttering CBS News Radio, the nearly century-old service that once carried Edward R. Murrow's wartime dispatches from London CBS News begins new round of layoffs: ‘This is really hard and really tough’theguardian.com·SecondaryCBS News Radio to shutter after nearly 100 years as editor Bari Weiss tells staff cuts were ‘necessary’ decision Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox CBS News announced it is laying off dozens of employees on Friday and ending CBS News Radio – its nearly 100-year-old radio service – as part of a strategic restructuring. The news was announced in a memo to staffers from its editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president, Tom Cibrowski..

Editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and network president Tom Cibrowski announced the cuts in an internal memo to staff on Friday morning, March 20. Employees learned by end of day whether their positions had been eliminated. The reductions affected an estimated 60 to 70 people across the organization, according to sources familiar with the plans Major CBS News Layoffs Begin Under Bari Weiss’ Restructuring Planhollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryCBS News is undergoing layoffs, as editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski seek to remake the broadcast news division. The executives announced the cuts Friday morning, telling staff that it is a “difficult day” at the company. Around 6 percent of staff, representing dozens of employees, will be impacted..

A Strategic Restructuring Under New Leadership

Weiss and Cibrowski framed the layoffs as a necessary step in adapting to a rapidly shifting media landscape. In their memo, the executives wrote that the news business is changing radically and that CBS News must change along with it. They pointed to new audiences emerging on new platforms, saying that some parts of the newsroom must get smaller to make room for the investments needed to remain competitive CBS News begins new round of layoffs: ‘This is really hard and really tough’theguardian.com·SecondaryCBS News Radio to shutter after nearly 100 years as editor Bari Weiss tells staff cuts were ‘necessary’ decision Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox CBS News announced it is laying off dozens of employees on Friday and ending CBS News Radio – its nearly 100-year-old radio service – as part of a strategic restructuring. The news was announced in a memo to staffers from its editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president, Tom Cibrowski..

On a morning editorial call, Weiss addressed the newsroom directly. She described the day as really hard and really tough, and told employees that the cuts had absolutely nothing to do with the quality of their work. She attributed the decisions entirely to the transformation sweeping the industry, emphasizing that it was not a reflection of individual performance CBS News begins new round of layoffs: ‘This is really hard and really tough’theguardian.com·SecondaryCBS News Radio to shutter after nearly 100 years as editor Bari Weiss tells staff cuts were ‘necessary’ decision Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox CBS News announced it is laying off dozens of employees on Friday and ending CBS News Radio – its nearly 100-year-old radio service – as part of a strategic restructuring. The news was announced in a memo to staffers from its editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president, Tom Cibrowski..

The restructuring reflects the strategic direction Weiss outlined in January, shortly after taking the helm at CBS News. Her vision centers on restoring public trust in the network, expanding digital and streaming offerings, and building identifiable brands around on-air talent. She has sought journalists willing to put themselves at the center of the story and has recruited contributors representing a range of viewpoints CBS News Starts Another Round Of Layoffsdeadline.com·SecondaryUPDATED, with additional details: CBS News announced a new round of layoffs on Friday, the latest for the news division under the network’s new parent Paramount Skydance. In a memo to employees, CBS News Editor in Chief Bari Weiss and CBS News president Tom Cibrowski said: “It’s no secret that the news business is changing radically, and that we need to change along with it..

The End of CBS News Radio

Perhaps the most symbolically significant casualty of the restructuring is CBS News Radio, which will cease operations on May 22, 2026. The service provided news programming to approximately 700 affiliated radio stations across the United States and traces its origins to 1927 — predating television itself CBS News to lay off 6% of workforce, source saysi-invdn-com.investing.com·Secondary.

The radio division hosted some of the most iconic moments in American broadcast history. Murrow's World War II dispatches from the London Blitz defined a generation of journalism, and the network's signature program, CBS World News Roundup, holds the distinction of being the longest continuously running newscast in the country CBS News begins new round of layoffs: ‘This is really hard and really tough’theguardian.com·SecondaryCBS News Radio to shutter after nearly 100 years as editor Bari Weiss tells staff cuts were ‘necessary’ decision Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox CBS News announced it is laying off dozens of employees on Friday and ending CBS News Radio – its nearly 100-year-old radio service – as part of a strategic restructuring. The news was announced in a memo to staffers from its editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president, Tom Cibrowski..

Weiss and Cibrowski acknowledged the weight of the decision in a separate memo dedicated to the radio closure. They wrote that while it was a necessary decision, it was not an easy one, citing a shift in radio station programming strategies coupled with challenging economic realities that had made it impossible to continue the service Major CBS News Layoffs Begin Under Bari Weiss’ Restructuring Planhollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryCBS News is undergoing layoffs, as editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski seek to remake the broadcast news division. The executives announced the cuts Friday morning, telling staff that it is a “difficult day” at the company. Around 6 percent of staff, representing dozens of employees, will be impacted..

All CBS News Radio staffers are being let go as part of the shutdown CBS News to lay off 6% of workforce, source saysi-invdn-com.investing.com·Secondary.

Union Pushback and Employee Discontent

The layoffs drew sharp criticism from organized labor. The Writers Guild of America condemned the cuts as an example of the recklessness and greed of management, indicating that guild members were among those affected CBS News to lay off 6% of workforce, source saysi-invdn-com.investing.com·Secondary. The union's statement characterized the decision to shutter CBS News Radio as indicative of what it called inept leadership under Weiss and Paramount Skydance chief David Ellison Major CBS News Layoffs Begin Under Bari Weiss’ Restructuring Planhollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryCBS News is undergoing layoffs, as editor-in-chief Bari Weiss and president Tom Cibrowski seek to remake the broadcast news division. The executives announced the cuts Friday morning, telling staff that it is a “difficult day” at the company. Around 6 percent of staff, representing dozens of employees, will be impacted..

The timing compounded tensions that had been building for weeks. Just three days before the layoffs, on March 17, dozens of CBS News 24/7 staffers staged a walkout after union contract negotiations with management broke down. The one-day work stoppage represented Weiss's first direct confrontation with organized labor at the network.

Internal morale appeared shaken. One staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment, told the Guardian simply that the mood was not great CBS News begins new round of layoffs: ‘This is really hard and really tough’theguardian.com·SecondaryCBS News Radio to shutter after nearly 100 years as editor Bari Weiss tells staff cuts were ‘necessary’ decision Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox CBS News announced it is laying off dozens of employees on Friday and ending CBS News Radio – its nearly 100-year-old radio service – as part of a strategic restructuring. The news was announced in a memo to staffers from its editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president, Tom Cibrowski..

A Network in Transition

The cuts represent the second wave of layoffs since technology entrepreneur David Ellison's Skydance Media completed its acquisition of CBS News parent company Paramount last August. An initial round of approximately 100 layoffs in late October — described internally at the time as a bloodbath — came just weeks after Weiss assumed her role as editor-in-chief. That round cancelled several streaming shows and overhauled the Saturday morning program CBS News begins new round of layoffs: ‘This is really hard and really tough’theguardian.com·SecondaryCBS News Radio to shutter after nearly 100 years as editor Bari Weiss tells staff cuts were ‘necessary’ decision Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox CBS News announced it is laying off dozens of employees on Friday and ending CBS News Radio – its nearly 100-year-old radio service – as part of a strategic restructuring. The news was announced in a memo to staffers from its editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president, Tom Cibrowski..

Beyond the layoffs, CBS News has experienced a steady outflow of prominent talent. Anderson Cooper, the network's most visible 60 Minutes correspondent and a CNN primetime anchor, announced last month that he would not continue with the storied newsmagazine. Justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane departed earlier in March to pursue independent journalism. Additional senior staffers have accepted buyout offers extended to employees of the CBS Evening News CBS News begins new round of layoffs: ‘This is really hard and really tough’theguardian.com·SecondaryCBS News Radio to shutter after nearly 100 years as editor Bari Weiss tells staff cuts were ‘necessary’ decision Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox CBS News announced it is laying off dozens of employees on Friday and ending CBS News Radio – its nearly 100-year-old radio service – as part of a strategic restructuring. The news was announced in a memo to staffers from its editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president, Tom Cibrowski..

Several employees who received layoff notices shared the news publicly on social media, including Nick Kurtz, an assignment desk editor in the Washington bureau, and Hunter Woodall, a political editorial producer CBS News to lay off 6% of workforce, source saysi-invdn-com.investing.com·Secondary.

The Broader Media Consolidation Picture

The CBS News restructuring is unfolding against a backdrop of sweeping consolidation in the American media industry. Paramount Skydance's next major move — a pending acquisition of CNN parent company Warner Bros. Discovery — could trigger even deeper cuts across both organizations. Paramount has projected that the combined merger could yield approximately $6 billion in cost savings, a figure that industry analysts expect will translate into substantial additional headcount reductions CBS News begins new round of layoffs: ‘This is really hard and really tough’theguardian.com·SecondaryCBS News Radio to shutter after nearly 100 years as editor Bari Weiss tells staff cuts were ‘necessary’ decision Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox CBS News announced it is laying off dozens of employees on Friday and ending CBS News Radio – its nearly 100-year-old radio service – as part of a strategic restructuring. The news was announced in a memo to staffers from its editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president, Tom Cibrowski..

The layoffs at CBS News are not occurring in isolation. Major news organizations across the United States have been shedding staff for years as advertising revenue migrates to digital platforms and audiences fragment across streaming services, social media, and podcasts. The network television news model that sustained operations like CBS News Radio for decades faces fundamental questions about its economic viability going forward.

What Comes Next

Weiss has signaled that her strategy involves significant reinvestment alongside the cuts. The emphasis on streaming and digital distribution suggests CBS News will attempt to follow audiences to the platforms where they increasingly consume information. Whether that pivot can succeed while simultaneously reducing experienced staff and closing legacy operations remains the central tension of the restructuring.

For the 700 radio stations that have relied on CBS News Radio for nearly a century of programming, the May 22 shutdown date now looms. The closure removes one of the last remaining pillars of the network radio news model that dominated American journalism for much of the twentieth century.

The affected employees have been offered support packages, though details of severance terms have not been publicly disclosed. Weiss and Cibrowski pledged in their memo to treat departing colleagues with care and respect CBS News begins new round of layoffs: ‘This is really hard and really tough’theguardian.com·SecondaryCBS News Radio to shutter after nearly 100 years as editor Bari Weiss tells staff cuts were ‘necessary’ decision Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox CBS News announced it is laying off dozens of employees on Friday and ending CBS News Radio – its nearly 100-year-old radio service – as part of a strategic restructuring. The news was announced in a memo to staffers from its editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, and president, Tom Cibrowski..

For CBS News, the question is whether the pain of contraction now will position the organization for growth in a media environment that looks increasingly unlike the one that built it.