Summary:
-
NBC News lays off 150 employees, memo did not specify teams, dedicated identity-focused verticals eliminated. Business Insider memo details layoffs.
-
NBCUniversal News Group chair calls layoffs necessary, affected staff encouraged to apply for open roles. Dedicated teams sunset but brands remain online.
-
NBC News restructures during separation from MSNBC and CNBC. Layoffs hit diversity coverage units, changes amid broader media contraction.
NBC News confirmed a round of layoffs affecting roughly 7 percent of its newsroom, or about 150 employees, as part of a broader reorganization tied to Comcast’s spinoff of several cable networks into Versant.
The company communicated the cuts in a memo to staff. The memo did not specify individual teams. However, TheWrap and other outlets report that the dedicated editorial teams for identity-focused verticals were eliminated, with the brands remaining online.
🚨 BREAKING: In a devastating move, NBC News FIRES nearly 150 staff who were responsible for “Black, Latino, Asian and LGBTQ+” coverage.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 15, 2025
In a memo published by Business Insider, NBCUniversal News Group chair Cesar Conde told employees the decision was “difficult” but necessary, and that affected staffers are encouraged to apply for open roles. Deadline, Variety, and the Los Angeles Times also reported the layoff total at about 150 as NBC News restructures during the split from MSNBC and CNBC.
Dedicated teams for NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, NBC Latino, and NBC OUT were sunset. According to reports the verticals will continue to publish with contributions from a small number of staffers embedded in the broader newsroom.
NBC News has not issued an on-the-record statement detailing these specific team changes.
ADVERTISEMENT
The reductions coincide with the separation of MSNBC and CNBC into Versant, which requires NBC News to operate without shared cable support functions that previously existed under one umbrella. The layoffs hit various departments, with heavy impact reported on diversity coverage units.
Dedicated identity desks have been a pipeline for coverage that centers historically underserved communities. The reported changes at NBC News arrive amid a broader contraction of DEI-branded efforts across media.
