PBS to slash 15% of workforce, lay off 100 staffers after Trump funding cuts

PBS is laying off 100 staffers — about 15% of its workforce — after Congress and President Trump followed through on a decades-old conservative goal: ending taxpayer subsidies for public broadcasting.The public broadcaster confirmed the cuts Thursday, citing the loss of $500 million in annual federal funding that vanished in July under a sweeping Trump-backed rescission bill.News of the layoffs was first reported by the New York Times.The Post has sought comment from PBS.The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which once distributed those dollars, is shutting down entirely by the end of this month.CEO Paula Kerger told station managers in an email that the layoffs were unavoidable despite earlier hiring freezes and pay pauses.“These decisions, while difficult, position PBS to weather the current challenges facing public media,” Kerger wrote.For years, Republicans have blasted PBS, NPR and Voice of America as taxpayer-funded mouthpieces for liberal bias and “woke propaganda.”Trump campaigned on eliminating federal support, accusing the outlets of partisanship and unfair coverage and the move to defund them became a centerpiece of Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for reshaping government and culture.Conservatives argue the networks should stand or fall on their own in the free market — not with subsidies and regulatory favors.They’ve also pointed to children’s shows and educational content that emphasize themes like race, gender and climate change, saying they amount to progressive indoctrination at taxpayer expense.PBS’s layoffs include 34 immediate pink slips, the closure of dozens of open jobs and cuts made earlier this summer when Congress axed funding for education programming.The network said it was reducing its budget by 21% and lowering dues for its 330 member stations.NPR, facing the same shortfall, is cutting $8 million from its own budget.

CEO Katherine Maher called the move a “first step” to ease pressure on affiliates that ...