NBC News has laid off about 150 employees, or 7 percent of its 2,000-person workforce, as it prepares to operate independently from MSNBC and CNBC, which will be spun off into a new company called Versant under Comcast's NBCUniversal.
The move reflects the industry's shift from cable to streaming and a restructuring of roles that previously supported the cable networks.
Despite the layoffs, NBC News said it is hiring for 140 open positions and encouraged affected staff to reapply. The separation will end a long, sometimes uneasy relationship between NBC News and its cable counterparts, with MSNBC rebranding as "MS NOW" and dropping the NBC peacock from its logo.
NBC News plans to launch a new subscription streaming service later this year, expand sports coverage, and promote itself as a fact-based news brand. Chair Cesar Conde acknowledged the difficulty of the decision in a memo to employees, saying the cuts were necessary to remain strong but did not reflect on the quality of departing staff.
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