CNN Staffers Fear Deep Cuts as Paramount Takeover Nears

CNN employees are bracing for major changes as Paramount moves toward its $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The company’s goal of at least $6 billion in cost savings has fueled concerns about layoffs, new leadership and the network’s editorial future.

The anxiety grew after Paramount settled an antitrust lawsuit with California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday, removing another obstacle to the deal.

“People are very nervous,” one CNN staffer told The Post.

“It’s dark. It’s like when you do hurricane coverage. You see the storm spinning off the coast of Haiti and moving towards Florida and you’re just waiting and you’re like, ‘Oh, s–t.’”

One television executive predicted severe cuts.

“Bloodbath coming, including at CNN,” the executive said. “That’s the next big step — slashing and burning.”

Paramount has not detailed how it will achieve its savings target. Reductions of that size could put thousands of jobs at risk across a combined company that would include CNN, CBS News, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, HBO Max and Paramount+.

Inside CNN, uncertainty extends beyond staffing. Employees say they have received little information about who will lead the network after Paramount CEO David Ellison takes control.

“There’s been a complete absence of information about what’s going on and who is going to be in charge,” one staffer said.

CNN chief Mark Thompson is expected to address employees at a town hall Wednesday, though questions about his role may remain unresolved until the transaction closes. Some insiders want him to retain editorial authority.

“He very much wants to be the editorial leader,” one insider said.

“He has no interest in someone else coming in and telling him what to do.”

Staffers are also watching the changes at CBS News under Ellison and news chief Bari Weiss. Personnel departures and editorial decisions there have prompted speculation about whether CNN could face a similar overhaul.

“What’s been playing out at CBS News is fueling a deeper sense of dread and anxiety,” one CNN insider said.

“You can’t look at the ratings and say, it is working,” the person said. “Now they’re going to try this at scale?”

Changes at “60 Minutes,” including the departures of prominent correspondents and senior producers, have drawn particular attention. A CBS source said Weiss “broke something that didn’t need fixing.”

Critics also point to ratings at “CBS Mornings” and “CBS Evening News.” Weiss’ defenders argue that her approach could bring a wider range of viewpoints to network coverage—a goal that would serve viewers who expect major news outlets to examine their own assumptions.

Under Paramount’s agreement with California and 11 other states, Ellison agreed to create an independent editorial board for CBS News and CNN. Whether that board can protect editorial independence remains an open question for some employees.

“It’s been proven in this country when you do these sorts of things, it’s not enforceable,” one staffer said.