As MSNBC continues to make major structural changes to its lineup, members of the union representing the cable network’s writers and producers say that 99 of their number are slated for cuts.The Writers Guild of America East’s bargaining unit at MSNBC decried the “mass layoffs” on “at least nine different shows” in a statement on Tuesday. According to the guild, those shows include The ReidOut, Alex Wagner Tonight, The Weekend, Andrea Mitchell Reports, Ayman Mohyeldin Reports, Weekends with Jonathan Capehart, The Katie Phang Show, José Díaz-Balart Reports and Inside with Jen Psaki.“This devastating news comes after the slow, painful trickle of announcements regarding a near-total overhaul of the network’s broadcast line-up,” the group wrote.The bargaining unit additionally alleged that the company has told employees who have been targeted for layoffs that they can reapply for their jobs, given that many roles are open or are set to open at MSNBC amid the shakeup. Open roles will be posted internally before they are circulated on NBCUniversal’s external career site.The bargaining unit called for an immediate cessation of the cuts. “The MSNBC Union demands the Company not lay off any of the employees it has slated to be laid off but rather reassign them as needed,” the group wrote. “In the event that any employees are not retained, we demand the Company follow the layoff provisions of the collective bargaining agreement that it entered into with the Union.”MSNBC declined comment.MSNBC staffers learned the official details of the transformation coming to the cable network on Monday. A memo from MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler announced some elevations — like Jen Psaki’s show moving to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and The Weekend hosts Symone Sanders Townsend, Michael Steele, and Alicia Menendez moving to a 7 p.m. show on weekdays — along with other notable changes, including the return of Rachel Maddow’s show on Mondays and the end of The ReidOut, José Díaz-Balart Reports, The Katie Phang Show, Alex Wagner Tonight, Ayman Mohyeldin Reports and Weekends with Jonathan Capehart. Capehart, Mohyeldin, Díaz-Balart and Phang are all staying with the network in various capacities.If 99 workers are indeed laid off as part of these changes, that would make a sizable dent in the union. As of December 2023, when the MSNBC Union’s first contract was ratified, the bargaining unit numbered nearly 300 workers. Workers first voted to unionize with the Writers Guild of America East in a National Labor Relations Board vote in 2021.
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