CNN Chief Delivers Grim News To Employees

CNN Chief Delivers Grim News To Employees
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 10: President of CNN Worldwid, Jeff Zucker speaks onstage at the CNN Upfront 2014 at Skylight Modern on April 10, 2014 in New York City. 24679_002_0102.JPG (Photo by Bryan Bedder/WireImage for Turner Networks)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 10: President of CNN Worldwid, Jeff Zucker speaks onstage at the CNN Upfront 2014 at Skylight Modern on April 10, 2014 in New York City. 24679_002_0102.JPG (Photo by Bryan Bedder/WireImage for Turner Networks)

It's not a fun time to be an employee at CNN.

Network chief Jeff Zucker recently spoke to employees about a recent memo from Turner CEO John Martin about potential layoffs — Martin said to expect "organizational changes" as the company implements a new plan to "maximize performance" — and his comments were not reassuring.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution obtained a transcript of Zucker's call with employees last Tuesday, and reported on Sunday that Zucker's bottom line was this: "We are going to do less and have to do it with less."

He told employees that "there will be changes" and that staffers should expect to hear from their managers in upcoming weeks.

"We now have a sense of what Turner is expecting from CNN," Zucker said. "I am working with the senior management team at CNN to figure out what this means for us. This will result in changes and what we do and what we stop doing."

The comments come after reports earlier this year that CNN's key leadership and talent has shifted from the company's headquarters in Atlanta to New York. Carol Costello and Brooke Baldwin, for example, recently moved to New York from Atlanta. Before that, they were the network's last two weekday anchors still hosting from headquarters.

Read the full transcript of Zucker's comments here.

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