Paramount’s latest wave of company-wide layoffs has struck CBS News, resulting in major program cancellations and significant staffing changes that have sent shockwaves through the network. On Wednesday, sources confirmed that Paramount would be shuttering the streaming editions of CBS Mornings and CBS Evening News, while also overhauling CBS Saturday Morning. The decision comes amid a sweeping corporate restructuring following Skydance’s recent acquisition of Paramount Global.
In addition to the programming cuts, CBS News is closing its Johannesburg bureau, a long-standing international post that has played a critical role in covering major stories across Africa. According to individuals familiar with the situation, roughly 100 CBS News staffers are being laid off as part of this phase. These dismissals are part of a much broader reduction that will affect approximately 1,000 employees across Paramount. Reports also indicate that another round of job cuts—estimated at a similar scale—is already planned for the coming months.
“People are very on edge,” one CBS staffer said, describing the internal atmosphere as “depressed and unhappy.” They characterized it as “a very tough day at the network,” with employees feeling both shocked and demoralized by the scope of the changes. The restructuring has been in development for months, though it coincides with a new leadership era under Bari Weiss, who was recently appointed editor-in-chief of CBS News. Sources, however, emphasize that the layoffs were already in motion before Weiss’s appointment earlier this month.
Among those directly impacted are CBS Saturday Morning co-anchors Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson, both of whom will be leaving the network. The show’s third co-anchor, Jeff Glor, who previously hosted CBS Evening News, was laid off in a prior round of cuts last year as Paramount Global began streamlining operations in anticipation of its eventual sale. Going forward, the weekday CBS Mornings team will take over production and hosting duties for the Saturday broadcast, a move intended to consolidate operations and reduce costs.
Several correspondents are also reportedly being let go, including Nikki Battiste and Janet Shamlian. Longtime senior foreign correspondent Debora Patta—who has been covering the war in Gaza from her base in Johannesburg—was also reported by The Los Angeles Times to be among those laid off. CBS has not confirmed her status, as a spokesperson for the network declined to comment on individual personnel decisions.
The cuts extend to CBS’s streaming ventures, which were launched as an effort to expand the network’s digital footprint. CBS Mornings Plus, a streaming-only third hour of the network’s flagship morning program, debuted last year with hosts Adriana Diaz and Tony Dokoupil. Likewise, CBS Evening News Plus, hosted by John Dickerson, was part of the company’s experiment to capture audiences on emerging digital platforms. Dickerson announced earlier this week that he would be leaving CBS at the end of the year, signaling another high-profile departure amid the network’s ongoing shakeup.
While the layoffs primarily target CBS News, they are part of a larger industry trend that has seen traditional media companies slash costs in response to shifting audience habits, advertising declines, and the consolidation of corporate ownership. Earlier this year, NBC News cut roughly 150 staff members as it prepared to split from its sister network, MSNBC. That change was tied to a broader corporate reorganization by Comcast, which is spinning off MSNBC and several of its cable brands into a new entity called Versant. Within NBC’s restructuring, several diversity-focused teams—including NBC Out and NBC Blk—were heavily affected, though those online platforms are expected to continue operating.
The Writers Guild of America East (WGAE) and Writers Guild of America West (WGAW), which represent many of the impacted CBS News employees, issued a joint statement condemning the ongoing wave of layoffs across the media industry. “Today, we once again see the toll on media workers and the news industry caused by unfettered corporate consolidation,” the unions wrote. “The WGAE and WGAW are working with impacted members to ensure our collective bargaining agreements are enforced and that labor law is followed in these layoffs at Paramount Skydance.”
For CBS News, the changes represent a profound shift in both scope and structure. The closures and cancellations underscore the growing financial pressures on legacy media organizations struggling to adapt to a digital-first environment. While Paramount insists the restructuring will position CBS News for future sustainability, employees describe a newsroom in turmoil—one where uncertainty has become the new normal. As one insider put it, “It’s not just about jobs being lost. It’s about the heart of what CBS News has always stood for. And that feels like it’s slipping away.”
