Anderson Cooper Among CNN Stars Feeling the Heat Ahead of Layoffs, Report Says
CNN’s workforce is bracing for a culling amidst Warner Bros. Discovery’s continued ownership of the news giant. Recent reports noted that layoffs are expected soon to cut costs and streamline CNN for the digital age. A new report in The U.S. Sun includes several quotes from anonymous CNN employees who have felt the “tensions” ahead of the shakeup.
“There are a lot of other media and platforms or TV channels, so the situation is easier for the big stars compared to the other journalists and the production workers,” one source told the outlet. “I have been feeling frustration and tensions in the star hosts, like Anderson Cooper, Jack Tapper, and Erin Burnett, for example, and some of them have been fed up with the situation for a bit now.”
They were later quoted in the piece by adding, “It’s been a peculiar environment for quite a bit now. A lot of us got denied any raise lately, and we see some of our perks being lowered, and we get told all the time to be ‘smart on the expenses’ when we go do reports or travel. We feel that many of us are under the threat of being fired before the end of the year.
“From the journalists and the production workers, everyone is scared and trying to see what could happen next, to anticipate the inevitable. It’s a sinking ship, and we know many of us will be out of here in the next few weeks or months. It’s a very tough situation; everyone is trying to see what Plan B is and what’s next in their careers. I have been here for 18 years and never experienced so much tension.”
Another quote in the piece noted that Fox News and Al Jazeera have approached some CNN personalities about future work. It’s unclear if Cooper, Tapper and Burnett are among those who’ve received offers; furthermore, it’s unclear if those three anchors’ jobs would be at risk amidst this restructuring.
While it’s unclear who will be leaving the network (besides Chris Wallace, who just walked away from contract negotiations), one of The U.S. Sun’s sources plainly states, “we are getting many signs that people are gonna be fired and axed very soon.”
