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NPR to Lay Off 10% of Staff Due to Revenue Declines

The nonprofit media organization is trying to make up for a $30 million budget shortfall.

NPR is the latest media outlet to fall prey to the economy and layoffs. The nonprofit organization announced yesterday that it will cost 10% of staff, or about 100 employees, because of revenue declines caused by falling advertising and sponsorship revenue. The company has about 1,100 workers, reports The New York Times. In addition to the job cuts, NPR will eliminate most of its unfilled positions.

NPR has a yearly budget of about $300 million and it is expected to have a shortfall between $30 million and $32 million this year. According to CNN, NPR has already cut $14 million from its budget, including the freezing vacant positions, suspending paid internships, and restricting non-essential travel. These measures are not enough to prevent the layoffs though.

“At a time when we are doing some of our most ambitious and essential work, the global economy remains uncertain. As a result, the ad industry has weakened and we are grappling with a sharp decline in our revenues from corporate sponsors,” Lansing wrote. “With approximately 65% of our budget supporting personnel costs, we will need to eliminate many of the vacant positions that have been frozen. We will also need to reduce filled positions by approximately 10%.”

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CEO John Lansing notified staff in a memo yesterday, but he did not say who will be impacted or what job cuts are anticipated. He did clarify that job cuts will not impact employees of color disproportionately. Decisions will be made based on strategy with final decisions coming by the week of March 20.

“I recognize that all of this is deeply unsettling, and I know that this introduces an uncomfortable period of uncertainty,” Lansing said. “We will move as swiftly as possible to provide clarity about the reductions needed, working in consultation with our unions.”

Other industry layoffs

NPR is just one of many media organizations laying off staff due to economic uncertainty. Other layoffs include the following:

BuzzFeed: In December, Buzzfeed laid off about 180 of its staff, or 12% of its total workforce, due to uncertain economic conditions and a need to cut costs, said Variety.

CNN: In December, less than a month after parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced third quarter losses, CNN announced that it would lay off hundreds of employees. CNN Chris Licht, who joined the company last May, said he conducted a thorough review of the business to identify where cuts and changes could be made.

Gannett: No round of media layoffs would be complete without Gannett’s participation. Four months after terminating hundreds of employees, the company announced it would cut about 200 jobs from its news division, or about 6%. News staff were given a preliminary warning in November. The announcement was officially made in December, Poynter reported.

NBC News and MSNBC: Due to programming and editorial changes, NBC News and MSNBC announced layoffs of about 75 employees in January. News of the layoffs came the day after NBC News president Noah Oppenheim stepped down to move to NBC Universal, said The Wrap.

Vox Media: In January, Vox Media announced plans to lay off about 7% of its staff, approximately 133 people out of the company’s 1,900 employees. Layoffs impacted the revenue, editorial, operations and core services divisions. This was the company’s third round of layoffs in the last year, reported Axios.

Washington Post: In December, Washington Post publisher Fred Rayn said there would be job cuts in the first quarter of 2023. In January, the Washington Post confirmed it was laying off 20 newsroom employees.

Insider Take

It is brutal out there for technology and media companies, many of whom have a subscription or recurring revenue component. Revenue declines caused by the loss of advertising revenue, or any revenue stream, in an uncertain economy means that company leaders and managers can’t make their budgets, leaving shortfalls that have to be absorbed. Often the largest expenditure for any company is staff, so it seems the “go to” place to cut and the easiest way to stop the bleeding.

Takeaway for subscription companies: Every company works off a budget and must learn to live and operate within its means. However, when things don’t go as planned, costs are cut and employees are usually the first to go. The danger here is that when employees leave, the companies and their products and services suffer. This includes customer service, and when subscribers and other customers are not getting the value they are paying for, subscription companies will lose them too. The key is finding the right balance before it’s too late.

Copyright © 2023 Authority Media Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

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