{"id":202753,"date":"2025-09-05T16:27:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T16:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/202753\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T16:27:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T16:27:11","slug":"pbs-to-slash-15-of-workforce-lay-off-100-staffers-after-funding-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/202753\/","title":{"rendered":"PBS to slash 15% of workforce, lay off 100 staffers after funding cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

PBS is laying off 100 staffers \u2014 about 15% of its workforce \u2014 after Congress and President Trump followed through on a decades-old conservative goal: ending taxpayer subsidies for public broadcasting.<\/a><\/p>\n

The public broadcaster confirmed the cuts on Thursday, citing the loss of $500 million in annual federal funding that vanished in July under a sweeping Trump-backed rescission bill.<\/p>\n

News of the layoffs was first reported by the New York Times.<\/a> The Post has sought comment from PBS.<\/p>\n

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which once distributed those dollars, is shutting down entirely<\/a> by the end of this month.<\/p>\n

PBS CEO Paula Kerger told station managers in an email that the layoffs were unavoidable despite earlier hiring freezes and pay pauses. Willy Sanjuan\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n

CEO Paula Kerger told station managers in an email that the layoffs were unavoidable despite earlier hiring freezes and pay pauses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese decisions, while difficult, position PBS to weather the current challenges facing public media,\u201d Kerger wrote.<\/p>\n

For years, Republicans have blasted PBS, NPR and Voice of America as taxpayer-funded mouthpieces for liberal bias and \u201cwoke propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump campaigned on eliminating federal support<\/a>, accusing the outlets of partisanship and unfair coverage and the move to defund them became a centerpiece of Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for reshaping government and culture.<\/p>\n

PBS is laying off 100 staffers \u2014 about 15% of its workforce. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Conservatives argue the networks should stand or fall on their own in the free market \u2014 not with subsidies and regulatory favors.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve also pointed to children\u2019s shows and educational content that emphasize themes like race, gender and climate change, saying they amount to progressive indoctrination at taxpayer expense.<\/p>\n

PBS\u2019s layoffs include 34 immediate pink slips, the closure of dozens of open jobs and cuts made earlier this summer when Congress axed funding for education programming.<\/p>\n

The network said it was reducing its budget by 21% and lowering dues for its 330 member stations.<\/p>\n

NPR, facing the same shortfall, is cutting $8 million from its own budget. CEO Katherine Maher called the move a \u201cfirst step\u201d to ease pressure on affiliates that relied on CPB grants.<\/p>\n

The public broadcaster confirmed the cuts Thursday, citing the loss of $500 million in annual federal funding. AP<\/p>\n

The fallout is hitting hardest at local PBS and NPR stations, many in rural areas where federal support covered basic operating costs. Dozens are warning they could shut down unless they find emergency funding.<\/p>\n

Trump officials have extended the crackdown to Voice of America, where more than 500 jobs were cut in August. Acting agency head Kari Lake defended the move by calling VOA \u201cradical\u201d and a national security threat.<\/p>\n

The administration slashed its reach from 49 languages to fewer than five, and signaled plans to dismantle other federally funded broadcasters like Radio Free Asia.<\/p>\n

The White House has insisted the policy is about fairness, arguing taxpayers shouldn\u2019t bankroll media organizations that critics say overwhelmingly tilt left.<\/p>\n

President Trump and his allies have long accused public broadcasters of bias. WILL OLIVER\/POOL\/EPA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cAmerican families should not be forced to fund partisan programming that refuses to represent their views,\u201d Trump said in May.<\/p>\n

PBS insists it will protect cornerstone shows such as \u201cPBS NewsHour\u201d and \u201cAntiques Roadshow,\u201d though other original series may be shelved.<\/p>\n

Employees described the mood inside as somber. \u201cIt feels like the soul of public television is being gutted,\u201d one staffer told the New York Times.<\/p>\n

The Post has sought comment from the White House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PBS is laying off 100 staffers \u2014 about 15% of its workforce \u2014 after Congress and President Trump…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":202754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[64,69,171,398,23967,277,173,67,132,68,5223],"class_list":{"0":"post-202753","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-media","12":"tag-pbs","13":"tag-trump","14":"tag-tv","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-us","18":"tag-white-house"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115152633660163225","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}