CNN’s woes got even more woeful Tuesday when it was announced that CNN’s parent company, Turner Broadcasting, would slash 8.5% of CNN’s workforce, and a longtime CNN producer filed a $5 million age and racial discrimination suit against the leftwing cable network.
It probably won’t help CNN in the discrimination suit now that the network has admitted it will target those 55 years of age and over for layoffs:
Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of CNN, will cut its total workforce by about 10% in the coming weeks through a mix of buyouts, layoffs and other measures, the company said Monday. …
The company said about 1,475 positions — out of 14,000 full-time positions worldwide — would be eliminated in the coming weeks.
Within CNN Worldwide, where the workforce totals roughly 3,500, about 300 positions will be cut, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plan, totaling 8.5%.
A buyout program for Turner staffers age 55 and older with ten-plus years at the company was announced in August.
The remainder of the CNN positions, about 170, will be cut through layoffs.
Meanwhile, Stanley Wilson, a 14-year field producer who was terminated by CNN in January, is suing the cable net for age and racial discrimination:
Stanley Wilson, described as a “51-year-old African- and Latino-American,” worked for CNN for more than 17 years, including almost 14 years as a field producer out of the LA bureau, according to court documents obtained by Deadline.com. …
Wilson claims Peter Janos, who was promoted to vice president and bureau chief of the Western region in 2004, was to blame. Janos allegedly “demonstrated that he never liked [Wilson] and never wanted him at the bureau because of [Wilson’s] protected characteristics, including his race, color, and ancestry, among other things.” Wilson says he filed multiple complaints about Janos, who he says “ruled the Los Angeles bureau through fear and intimidation,” and the cultural climate at the office.
On Jan. 7, a story Wilson wrote came under scrutiny. Three sentences allegedly resembled the text of another outlet’s story without attribution. The copy editor who reviewed the piece reported it to Janos. An audit of Wilson’s work was conducted, and he was ultimately terminated on Jan. 28.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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