NPR is laying off around 10% of current employees as financial outlook has ‘significantly deteriorated’

NPR plans to lay off approximately 10% of its current workforce due to the weak advertising market and a decline in corporate sponsorship revenue, as well as uncertainties in the global economy in general.

In a memo to employees, NPR CEO John Lansing wrote: “Our financial outlook has deteriorated significantly in recent weeks. At a time when we are doing our most ambitious and vital work, the global economy remains uncertain.”

NPR announced a service freeze last year as part of a cost-cutting plan amid a $20 million drop in sponsorship revenue. But for fiscal 2023, that shortfall is now projected to be at least $30 million, Lansing wrote.

“The cuts we have already made to our budget will not be enough,” Lansing wrote.

NPR’s David Folkenflik, who first reported on the layoffs, wrote that the layoffs affect at least 100 people. NPR is also eliminating many of its vacancies.

NPR is the latest media outlet to announce layoffs Washington PostGannett, NBC News and CNN have also recently cut staff.

“Unlike the challenges we faced during the worst of the pandemic, we expect costs to rise and no sign of a rapid revenue recovery,” Lansing wrote. “We have to make adjustments to what we control, what our spending is.”

Lansing said they don’t have an exact figure on the percentage of filled positions that will be eliminated because it depends in part on how many vacant positions are eliminated. He said NPR is conducting internal discussions and negotiations with unions including SAG-AFTRA and NABET, which cover some of the workforce.

“Guided by our strategic priorities, we must support NPR’s mission and future with the resources at our disposal,” Lansing wrote. “As we reduce the number of jobs at NPR, some jobs will change or have to be discontinued altogether. It will take a little more time to figure out what that job is.” He hopes to have final decisions on the job cuts by the week of March 20, he wrote.

He told Folkenflik that the clips would not be evenly distributed across the company. “I don’t expect there to be a haircut in every division because it’s just not managed,” Lansing said. “Management is about commitment to strategy and making difficult decisions.”

He also wrote that they “will support us [diversity, equity and inclusion] Prioritize and do not disproportionately affect people of color or other historically marginalized groups.”

Lansing’s full memo is below:

Everyone –

As we are currently discussing at the work meeting, our financial outlook has deteriorated significantly in recent weeks. At a time when we are doing our most ambitious and important work, the global economy remains uncertain. As a result, the advertising industry has weakened and we are struggling with a sharp drop in our corporate sponsorship income. We had a plan to manage a $20 million decrease in sponsorship revenue for FY23, but we now expect to be at least a $30 million shortfall. The cuts we have already made to our budget will not be enough.

In contrast to the financial challenges we faced during the worst of the pandemic, we expect costs to rise and no sign of a rapid revenue recovery. We have to make adjustments to what we control, which is our spending.

We have reached a point where we can no longer protect all jobs. We fought hard to prevent this. We’ve already cut $14 million in costs, including freezing most jobs, suspending paid internships and fellowships, and limiting non-essential travel.

As we cut costs, we redoubled our efforts to build the runway to increase public media revenue with new licensing agreements, major gifts and grants, and the groundbreaking of the NPR network.

To tackle the growing deficit, we need to further reduce our spending. Since about 65% of our budget funds staff costs, we will have to cut many of the frozen positions. We also need to reduce occupied positions by about 10%. The final percentage depends mainly on how many of the open positions we can eliminate in the future. To work out this process, we will have internal discussions and negotiations with our unions.

When we say we’re cutting jobs, we’re talking about our colleagues—people whose skills, minds, and talents help make NPR what it is today. It will be a great loss.

NPR’s sales department, which operates the public radio satellite system, is separately funded, unaffected by sponsorship, and will not be involved in this process.

Guided by our strategic priorities, we must support NPR’s mission and future with the resources at our disposal. As we reduce the number of jobs at NPR, some jobs will change or have to be discontinued altogether. Figuring out what kind of work it is takes a little more time. I asked the Bureau to take this train of thought as quickly but as carefully as possible to give everyone the clarity they deserve. I hope to make final decisions on feature reductions during the week of March 20th.

As always, we will work with our unions and I know these discussions will be helpful. SAG-AFTRA and NABET have been key partners in helping NPR overcome many challenges over the years.

I admit that all of this is very worrying, and I know that it brings with it an uncomfortable time of uncertainty. We will take steps as soon as possible to clarify the necessary cuts in consultation with our unions.

We will keep lines of communication open in the coming weeks. We will go through this process, as well as other important organizational developments over the past few years, with as much compassion, respect and dignity as possible. We will support our DEI priorities and not disproportionately impact people of color or other historically marginalized groups. We will speak openly about our work to support the future of our organization and our remarkable people.

John