PBS to slash 15% (*100*) workforce, lay off 100 – Business News
PBS is laying off 100 staffers — about 15% (*100*) its workforce — after Congress and President Trump adopted via on a decades-old conservative purpose: ending taxpayer subsidies for public broadcasting.
The public broadcaster confirmed the cuts on Thursday, citing the loss (*100*) $500 million in annual federal funding that vanished in July below a sweeping Trump-backed rescission invoice.
News (*100*) the layoffs was first reported by the New York Times. The Post has sought remark from PBS.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which as soon as distributed these {dollars}, is shutting down solely by the top (*100*) this month.
PBS CEO Paula Kerger informed station managers in an e mail that the layoffs had been unavoidable regardless of earlier hiring freezes and pay pauses. Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP
CEO Paula Kerger informed station managers in an e mail that the layoffs had been unavoidable regardless of earlier hiring freezes and pay pauses.
“These decisions, while difficult, position PBS to weather the current challenges facing public media,” Kerger wrote.
For years, Republicans have blasted PBS, NPR and Voice (*100*) America as taxpayer-funded mouthpieces for liberal bias and “woke propaganda.”
Trump campaigned on eliminating federal assist, accusing the retailers (*100*) partisanship and unfair protection, and the transfer to defund them grew to become a centerpiece (*100*) Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for reshaping authorities and tradition.
PBS is laying off 100 staffers — about 15% (*100*) its workforce. Getty Images
Conservatives argue the networks ought to stand or fall on their own within the free market — not with subsidies and regulatory favors.
They’ve additionally pointed to kids’s reveals and academic content material that emphasize themes like race, gender and climate change, saying they quantity to progressive indoctrination at taxpayer expense.
PBS’s layoffs embrace 34 speedy pink slips, the closure (*100*) dozens (*100*) open jobs and cuts made earlier this summer time when Congress axed funding for training programming.
The community stated it was decreasing its finances by 21% and decreasing dues for its 330 member stations.
NPR, dealing with the identical shortfall, is slicing $8 million from its own finances. CEO Katherine Maher known as the transfer a “first step” to ease strain on associates that relied on CPB grants.
The public broadcaster confirmed the cuts Thursday, citing the loss (*100*) $500 million in annual federal funding. AP
The fallout is hitting hardest at native PBS and NPR stations, many in rural areas the place federal assist lined primary working prices. Dozens are warning they may shut down except they discover emergency funding.
Trump officers have prolonged the crackdown to Voice (*100*) America, the place more than 500 jobs had been cut in August. Acting company head Kari Lake defended the transfer by calling VOA “radical” and a national security menace.
The administration slashed its attain from 49 languages to fewer than 5, and signaled plans to dismantle different federally funded broadcasters like Radio Free Asia.
The White House has insisted the coverage is about equity, arguing taxpayers shouldn’t bankroll media organizations that critics say overwhelmingly tilt left.
President Trump and his allies have long accused public broadcasters (*100*) bias. WILL OLIVER/POOL/EPA/Shutterstock
“American families should not be forced to fund partisan programming that refuses to represent their views,” Trump stated in May.
PBS insists it would defend cornerstone reveals comparable to “PBS NewsHour” and “Antiques Roadshow,” although different authentic sequence could also be shelved.
Employees described the temper inside as somber. “It feels like the soul of public television is being gutted,” one staffer informed the New York Times.
“The days of American taxpayers being forced to foot the bill for left-wing propaganda are over,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston informed The Post.
“President Trump is working to ensure taxpayer dollars are only used responsibly and to benefit hardworking Americans.”
