Job cuts hit media firms amid economic slowdown, more layoffs coming

San Francisco: Amid the Big Tech layoff season, the media and entertainment industry worldwide has also been hit with job cuts as advertisers reduce spending amid the global economic slowdown.

According to Axios, more than 3,000 jobs have been cut till October this year in the media industry, and more are on the way.

Warner Bros Discovery has continued to lay off employees amid slowdown.

“CNN chief Chris Licht warned employees last week that the network would see more layoffs beginning next month,” sources told Axios.

From Paramount Global to The Walt Disney Company, media outlets have announced layoffs, hiring freeze and other cost-cutting measures.

“Comcast’s cable unit made cuts last month. Its entertainment arm, NBCUniversal, is also expecting layoffs,” reports mentioned.

Protocol, the tech news website launched from Politico in 2020, will shut down by the end of the year. Around 60 employees will be laid off, according to Axios.

Vice Media CEO Nancy Dubac told staff it plans to cut costs by “up to 15 per cent” after smaller cuts earlier this month.

According to experts, the newspaper industry is facing higher distribution and labour costs in the wake of the pandemic.

“Gannett, the parent company to USA Today, said it was planning another round of layoffs, in addition to furloughs, after laying off 400 people in August,” said the report.

In the tech industry, as of mid-November, more than 73,000 employees in the US tech sector have been laid off, according to a Crunchbase News tally. Tech companies as big as Netflix have slashed jobs this year.