NBC News has begun a round of layoffs that is slated to affect more than 100 employees, reports suggest.
The news of layoffs at the network comes as MSNBC and CNBC have begun the process of separating from their longtime partners as part of a spin-off featuring the cable brands of NBCUniversal being placed in their own company, Versant.
On October 6th, MSNBC and CNBC stopped utilizing NBC News for domestic and international coverage from its correspondents and production crews. Beginning on Monday, October 20th, MSNBC will be completely independent and separated from NBC News. MSNBC will also transition away from the branding it has used for nearly three decades, switching to MS NOW in November.
Versant and its full complement of cable channels — which includes CNBC — expects to be officially independent from Comcast and NBCUniversal on January 1st.
In a meeting with staffers on Tuesday morning, NBC News Executive Vice President of Editorial Catherine Kim said that it would “be a difficult day for a lot of us” as the cuts were enacted.
In total, between 7 and 8% of the employees inside the outlet are expected to see their positions eliminated as part of the reductions.
That figure accounts for between 100 and 150 positions inside the company. While those positions are eliminated, NBC News will encourage employees to apply for current vacant positions inside the organization in an attempt to retain a job at the company.
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