CNN Veterans Take Buyouts Skydance Didn't Expect

Skydance offered buyouts at CNN and CBS News to cut costs, and more veteran staff took them than the company expected, Status reported. [Skydance buyouts at CNN, CBS News spark exodus of veteran staffers — New York Post, reporting Status] [Paramount offers CNN, CBS staff buyouts — Wisevoter]

The program, announced October 26, weeks after Skydance closed its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, serves a pledge of at least six billion dollars in annual savings. CNN's terms run three weeks of pay per year of service, capped at two years. [Skydance buyouts at CNN, CBS News spark exodus of veteran staffers — New York Post, reporting Status] [Paramount offers CNN, CBS staff buyouts — Wisevoter]

The takers are the story: senior managers in CNN's New York bureau, experienced staff in Atlanta and veteran camera operators, including people their bosses wanted to keep. Some managers are alarmed; other executives are relieved that longtime employees can leave on their own terms, and the senior ranks of the New York breaking-news team largely stayed. CNN hadn't offered buyouts since 2019, so the round reached a backlog of long-servers who'd been waiting for a package. Eligibility ran to staff with at least 15 years and titles no higher than vice president. CBS News offered two weeks per year, and its staff, under editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, weigh the offer after a year in which some 60 Minutes producers left voluntarily and other correspondents and managers were fired. [Skydance buyouts at CNN, CBS News spark exodus of veteran staffers — New York Post, reporting Status] [Paramount offers CNN, CBS staff buyouts — Wisevoter]

The arithmetic behind it is merger debt. The October 6 acquisition left the combined company with an estimated 82.5 billion dollars in debt against 7.9 billion in cash, and David Ellison has pledged at least six billion in annual savings within three years. The buyouts arrived alongside a five-day return-to-office mandate. Decisions were due from many staff by Sunday, with CBS News employees holding until next Wednesday, and those who took the deals are scheduled to leave December 4, weeks before Christmas. How many ultimately accepted hasn't been disclosed. [Skydance buyouts at CNN, CBS News spark exodus of veteran staffers — New York Post, reporting Status] [Paramount offers CNN, CBS staff buyouts — Wisevoter]