KQED has reduced its workforce by laying off 45 employees, equating to 15% of its staff. The video team will be disbanded, and various programs, including the 'Youth Takeover,' will be discontinued or reduced. The station's president, Michael Isip, noted that these changes are necessary due to financial pressures and threats to federal funding. Salary raises and employer 403(b) matches will be paused for a year, and ten open positions will remain unfilled. The reductions are a response to a challenging media landscape.
Michael Isip stated that "it comes with a heavy heart to let you know that this afternoon we completed conversations with those who will be leaving as part of budget reductions." He acknowledged that the cuts are painful but necessary due to financial realities, highlighting threats to federal funding and a fragmented media landscape.
The layoffs affected 'all areas' of the newsroom, and KQED's video team will be disbanded entirely as part of a strategy to rethink digital video production.
Isip wrote that KQED has stabilized its financial position for now and is making these changes to save $13 million a year.
A total of 15 percent of KQED's workforce will be impacted by the layoffs and reductions, which amount to 45 layoffs and buyouts.
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