Cumulus Media has begun a new round of layoffs at radio stations across the country following its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month.
The cuts, the second this year, have affected on-air talent and staff in markets including Houston, Minneapolis, Nashville and Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, according to industry reports. In Houston, Kevin Quinn left his role as assistant program director and afternoon host at KRBE after 14 years. Shannon Knight exited nights and weekends at KXXR (93X) in Minneapolis. In Nashville, Brian Wilson ended his association with SuperTalk 99.7 WWTN, and Adam “Lazy E” Sieminski departed afternoons at WBSX (97.9X) in Scranton-Wilkes-Barre.
Cumulus, which operates about 377 radio stations in 84 markets along with the Westwood One network and a podcast division, completed its financial restructuring on Oct. 16. The prepackaged bankruptcy, filed in March in Houston, eliminated roughly $550 million to $600 million in debt. Former lenders received equity in the reorganized company, and existing public shareholders were wiped out. President and CEO Mary Berner remains in charge, and a new board has been appointed.
An earlier round of cuts in August, while Cumulus was still in bankruptcy, affected sales, programming and podcast staff in markets such as San Francisco, Atlanta, Detroit and Kansas City. That round included the departure of KNBR midday hosts Greg Papa and Greg Silver in San Francisco and most of the on-air staff at Atlanta’s WNNX (99X).
In a letter to the FCC ahead of approval of the ownership transfer, Berner pledged that the company would maintain existing newsroom staffing levels for at least two years. The total number of employees affected in the latest cuts has not been disclosed.