US-based Cable News Network (CNN) is restructuring its business to meet the changing audience preferences. CNN headquarters in Atlanta, US. Why CNN is reducing employees CNN’s restructuring is focused on building digital subscription products as audiences shift away from linear TV. The company secured $70 million (KSh 9.1 billion) in investment from Warner Bros in digital operations. According to CNBC, the global giant media house plans to lay off hundreds of employees starting Thursday, January 24. Will CNN layoffs affect Kenyan journalists? CNN’s plan to cut the workforce is expected to lower production costs and consolidate teams.
The move could affect more than 3,500 CNN employees globally, including Kenyan journalists. Sources privy to the layoffs revealed that CNN’s most recognisable names, currently under contract, will not be affected. Which prominent Kenyan journalists work at CNN In 2021, CNN hired former NTV news anchor Larry Madowo as its Nairobi correspondent. Madowo returned to Nairobi with a wealth of knowledge after working as the BBC’s North America correspondent. In April 2024, the global media house hired Kenyan journalist and anchor Victoria Rubadiri for a new role on its long-running multiplatform series Connecting Africa and as part of the network’s newsgathering operation in Nairobi.
Before joining CNN, Rubadiri worked at Royal Media Services as a Citizen TV news anchor. How company layoffs affected Kenyans Several Kenyan and international companies fired workers in 2024 despite the government’s assertions that the economy improved. A Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE) report showed high taxes imposed by the Kenya Kwanza Alliance administration led to unsustainable business costs, negatively impacting cash flows, payroll, general wage demand, and business closures. FKE also attributed job losses to high interest rates, inflation, global geopolitical developments, and climate change.
by Wycliffe Musalia
