Layoffs Looming For The Today Show?
If you’re a Today Show employee, you may not want to sign any long-term leases.
Comcast, the parent company of NBC Television, may reportedly be giving serious consideration to downsizing the show’s workforce, similar to the cutbacks that took effect recently on the Tonight Show.
In its “Page Six” gossip section, The New York Post reports that layoffs may be in the offing for the ratings-challenged NBC morning show.
Staffers at NBC’s struggling “Today” show are bracing for possible cutbacks and layoffs, and wondering whether Matt Lauer will give up any of his $25 million annual salary to save jobs there, sources tell Page Six…
A source told us, “Comcast has been looking at every one of its shows. The ‘Today’ staff has been warned that cuts could be coming, and the question there is, if they start dumping people, will Matt Lauer take a cut the way Jay Leno did?”
Another source said, “It will be the little people who go first — the makeup people, writers, but these people have families, and it will put pressure on Matt to do the right thing.”
In April, Matt Lauer signed a new contract in range of $25 million-$30 million to continue as the primary anchor for the Today Show. In July, co-anchor Ann Currie was pushed out in favor of Savannah Guthrie, but the show is still losing viewership to ABC’s Good Morning America.
A few weeks ago, Tonight Show host Jay Leno reportedly agreed to a salary reduction, and about 25 employees lost their jobs in a layoff. According to the Post, “Leno took a pay cut of a reported 10 percent to stave off even more cuts.”
