NBC News began slashing employees as seven percent of the network's staff were given the boot ahead of Comcast's cable network split.
Around 150 staffers were cut from the news network on Wednesday as MSNBC and CNBC prepare to be shifted into a new publicly traded company, Versant Media Group.
Employees who were cut from the network were reportedly given 60 days' notice and are set to receive severance and a subsidized benefits package, two sources told the New York Times.
The cuts included teams dedicated to diversity focused coverage, including Black, Latino, Asian American and LGBTQ+ communities, NBC Blk, NBC Latino, NBC Asian America, and NBC OUT, the Wrap reported.
No anchors are said to be affected by the layoffs.
The cuts are made up of around 2 percent of the NBCUniversal News Group, which is now hiring for 140 positions across the group. Employees laid off are said to also be able to reapply to the openings.
Around a dozen of the positions eliminated by the news group are also being repurposed into new roles.
President of the NewsGuild of New York, Susan DeCarava, said in a statement to Deadline: 'What’s clear: NBC management is prioritizing corporate profits at the expense of our hard-working members, without whom there would be no NBC News.'
The split was said to be a move to streamline and avoid overlap.
Employees were told the mass exodus was due to the company's upcoming split, thus reducing the need for newsgathering for multiple networks, as well as the economic climate and changing news industry.
Recently, the network made more targeted cuts, including NBC's graphics team which was shared between NBC and MSNBC.
The cable network's split, which was announced last year, is set to be completed by the end of this year.
Comcast announced that networks MSNBC, USA Network, CNBC, Oxygen, E!, SYFY and Golf Channel will soon be under the umbrella of their new parent company, Versant.
MSNBC, soon to adopt the name MS Now [My Source, New-Opinion-World], has plans to build its own news network and is set to cut ties from NBC News correspondents and crews for their coverage by October 20, Deadline reported.
It is also set to house Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow, GolfPass and SportsEngine, CNBC reported.
Versant CEO Mark Lazarus told the outlet: 'We’re going to focus on the individual brands that we have, not the corporate name. This is a holding company name. It’s going to be used for business-to-business purposes.'
Assets held by the new company generated revenue of around $7 billion within the last year.
Comcast is set to hold on to NBC News, the streaming service Peacock, Universal Studios, its theme parks, and Bravo.
The NBC News division is looking to adopt a new subscription service as well as bolstering their recently created podcast, Here's the Scoop, and adopting a new marketing campaign.
