Report: Widespread Layoffs Coming To NBCUniversal

The axe is about to fall at media giant NBCUniversal to offset losses brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, The NY Post is reporting.

The New York-based broadcaster is preparing broad-based layoffs that will hit its network employees especially hard, sources said. The scale of the layoffs could not yet be determined, but insiders described the job cuts as “sweeping”and “significant.”

NBCU declined to comment.

The company, which owns cable news networks  MSNBC, NBC News, CNBC, as well as Hollywood studio, Universal Pictures and theme park, Universal Studios, has been struggling to cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has crimped ad sales, sources said.

In May, Jeff Shell, who took the reins as NBCU’s CEOin December, cut senior management pay by 20 percent and he rolled back pay for employees making more than $100,000 by 3 percent.

Since then, Shell and his team have been “exploring ways for NBCU to operate more efficiently,” as the coronavirus has also its ability to operate its theme parks and shoot film and TV shows and release movies in cinemas, an insider told The Post.

The Comcast-owned NBCU said in April that first-quarter revenue fell 7 percent to $7.7 billion, as a result of pandemic pressures on its business. At the time, the company warned that it expects to lose about $500 million if its theme parks remained closed through June, and said it expected advertising to fall “significantly” in the second quarter.