CNN cuts 100 jobs and starts digital subscriptions

CNN is eliminating approximately 100 jobs and plans to launch its first digital subscriptions before the end of the year as the news network strives to reshape its business.

In a memo sent to staff on Wednesday, CNN CEO Mark Thompson said he is cutting just 100 jobs out of a total workforce of approximately 3,500. He said open positions were closed where possible to minimize total layoffs.

Media organizations, including CNN, have struggled to grow audiences and revenue and have sought to diversify what they offer customers.

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Thompson said CNN’s digital strategy must be “ambitious enough to deliver the audiences and revenues we need to maintain our unique journalistic firepower and succeed as a business.”

The executive said CNN will create subscription-ready products that deliver news, analysis and context in new formats. He emphasized that there will be an effort to keep users on the CNN.com site longer and find ways to keep them coming back more.

While CNN’s digital products have focused primarily on text articles, Thompson said there will be a shift toward providing more video content.

“Moving forward, our digital products will need to do a much better job of reflecting CNN’s enormous strength in video and anchoring/reporting talent,” Thompson said.

The organization will also develop more “news you can use” for its audience, with lifestyle and special content. Thompson said these products will provide the company with multiple monetization opportunities, including sponsorships, new advertising and direct-to-consumer subscriptions.

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CNN will also invest more in artificial intelligence, Thompson said, and look at how it can safely use the technology to serve its audience.

Thompson, a former chief executive of the BBC and The New York Times, was named head of CNN in August 2023 and took up the role in October. He replaced Chris Licht, who was fired in June that year. Thompson was credited with helping the Times transition to a digital-first organization more dependent on paid subscribers than the advertising market collapse that doomed many newspapers.

In January, Thompson described a strategy to his team that included a “drastic modernization” of the CNN.com website.