In a memo Wednesday morning, CNN CEO Chris Licht wrote that the channel will inform paid contributors Wednesday as part of a new reporting strategy, with full-time employees being informed of their status on Thursday.

“It will be a difficult time for everyone,” Licht wrote.

“Our people are the heart and soul of this organization,” the executive added. “It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to any one member of the CNN team, much less many. I recently described this process as a gut punch, because I know that is how it feels for all of us.”

The cuts are not a surprise, with Licht warning employees in late October that the news division would be undergoing a restructuring, citing “widespread concern over the global economic outlook.”

But they do come amid decreasing morale at CNN, which has already seen significant turnover this year since the Discovery merger. One of the first moves made after the merger closed was to shut down the CNN+ streaming service, laying off a couple hundred employees in the process.

Since then, the company has also made cuts at CNN Digital, and saw a handful of high-profile on-air anchors and correspondents depart, including Brian Stelter and John Harwood. It has also begun to add new programming, most notably a new morning show led by Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins.

That being said, the CNN layoffs come amid a wave of cost-cutting across the media industry, with TV news operations in particular buckling down for 2023.

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