CNN is set to lay off hundreds of people as the television group faces a 'profound' change in news practices.

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CNN has announced plans to lay off hundreds of employees as the struggling television network’s CEO warns of a “profound and irreversible shift” in the way audiences engage with news.

In a memo to employees Thursday, CEO Mark Thompson said 200 jobs, or 6 percent of CNN’s workforce, would be affected as CNN’s traditional cable TV business faces a sharp decline in viewership.

The layoffs are part of an overall restructuring as the media group looks to the future beyond traditional television.

Thompson said the overall headcount was not expected to fall because the company is investing $70 million in its digital business, which it hopes will reach $1 billion in revenue by 2030.

CNN is investing in a TV-like subscription service that will live on devices around the world, which it hopes will reverse the decline of traditional linear TV programming. The group expects hundreds of new roles to be created as a result, with the first 100 positions to be posted and filled in the first half of 2025.

“Some of that money is going into products and technology, but a lot is going into new high-quality journalism and storytelling,” Thompson said in a note published by the Financial Times.

CNN is in talks with its broadcast partners to launch the streaming service later this year.

In the year Thompson, who was appointed CEO to restore the ailing cable network’s fortunes in 2023, has made digital growth part of his new strategy as the industry faces the challenge of a long-term decline in traditional television.

The broadcaster has fought a ratings war with Fox News on the right and MSNBC on the left. That trend became clear this week, as CNN drew a fraction of the audience it previously enjoyed during presidential inaugurations.

Just 1.7 million households watched Trump’s inauguration on CNN Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. 10 million in 2021. By contrast, more than 10 million viewers watched the inauguration on Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News.

The total television viewership for Monday’s inauguration was the lowest in a decade. Fewer than 25 million Americans tuned in to watch Trump take the oath of office as president, down from nearly 34 million who watched Biden’s 2021 inauguration and 31 million who watched Trump’s 2017 inauguration, according to Nielsen data.

“The changes we’re announcing today are part of this great news organization’s ongoing response to a profound and irreversible shift in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news,” Thompson said. “From online to digital, fixed to mobile, traditional long-term distribution to all kinds of formats and use cases.”

He added that the shakeup was needed to “secure CNN’s future as one of the world’s great news outlets,” adding that “America and the world need high-quality, fair-minded and credible news sources more than ever.”

Thompson announced a restructuring of CNN’s newsroom, bringing in former New York Times lieutenant Alex McCallum to lead the transition to digital last year.

In the memo, Thompson McCallum said he launched the first direct-to-consumer subscription product, Video Cars, on digital platforms and revamped the CNN.com site.

Thompson pointed to additional plans for digital video, the launch of CNN’s first lifestyle-focused service and a new premium digital advertising platform.

It also announced changes to the broadcaster’s domestic and international schedules and cost-cutting plans.