NBC News has started the process of laying off staffers from its London bureau — the latest sign that the restructuring before its divorce from sister cable channels MSNBC and CNBC is moving apace, according to a report.
The Peacock Network’s news division has initiated a so-called “consultation phase” — a legally mandated procedure in the UK that is required before a company can cut staff, according to the Status newsletter.
The move, a first step toward eventually laying off employees, is being widely interpreted across the news division as a signal that deeper job cuts are on the way, the newsletter reported on Thursday.
Last week, NBC News eliminated fewer than a dozen people from its graphics team that provided support to both MSNBC and CNBC.
The initial round of job cuts are generating anxiety throughout the newsroom inside network headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, Status reported.
More than half a dozen insiders who spoke to the newsletter described a pervasive sense of dread, where speculation about deeper layoffs is rampant.
“It’s going to be bad, but no one is sure how bad,” one network insider told Status.
Another described the atmosphere as resembling the uneasy final days of a divorce, with staff bracing for inevitable departures.
The anxiety is tied to the looming separation of NBC News and Versant, which will formally begin Monday.
That day, NBC News journalists will stop appearing on MSNBC, ending a decades-long partnership.
Later this month, MSNBC and CNBC staffers will drop off NBC News editorial calls, and by November MSNBC will move into its own Times Square facility.
MSNBC will also build an independent newsroom and rebrand later this year as MS NOW, dropping the Peacock logo for a new striped flag design.
Once the split is complete, NBC News will no longer be able to sustain its current staffing structure.
In May, Comcast, the telecoms giant and parent company of NBC and properties such as MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo and Telemundo, announced that it was spinning off cable assets and digital brands into a new company called Versant.
Versant, which will be publicly traded on the Nasdaq, will include major cable channels like E!, Syfy, Golf Channel and Oxygen, along with digital properties such as Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes and SportsEngine.
The new company will be led by CEO Mark Lazarus, with a board and leadership team recruited specifically for Versant in 2025.
Versant will start with access to NBC’s broadcast sports rights, including the Olympics and Premier League, before pivoting to independent programming after a transition period.
The company reported about $7 billion in revenue in 2024 but faces declining cable profits and roughly $1 billion in debt.
NBCUniversal, which retains NBC News, the broadcast network, Peacock, Telemundo and Universal Studios, will remain within Comcast and focus on streaming, studios and theme parks.
CNBC will keep its name and business focus, while Versant pursues a “house of brands” strategy centered on digital growth and new partnerships.
The Post has sought comment from NBC News.
Credit: Source link
