NBC News has cut its diversity teams. (GHI-Plexi Images/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
NBC News’ Black, Latino, Asian American and LGBTQ+ diversity teams have been impacted by company-wide layoffs.
As reported by The Wrap, the cuts, announced to staff on Wednesday (15 October), are part of a broader layoff of about 150 employees as the Peacock network separates from its sister news channel, MSNBC.
The verticals NBC BLK, NBC Asian America, NBC Latino and NBC OUT will no longer have teams dedicated, but will continue to publish stories related to specific groups.
One source told The Wrap that NBC may retain as little as five staffers who would be responsible for publishing content across the verticals. They added that the cuts didn’t target specific teams and were driven by budget and the network’s want to streamline its efforts. This has not yet been confirmed by NBC publicly.
NBC currently has around 140 open positions across its various operations, meaning those laid off can consider applying for a new role.
The layoffs mark the second round for NBC News this year. In January, around 40 staffers were let go, some of whom were from teams focused on diversity groups.
In 2015, NBC News made history when out gay presenter Thomas Roberts anchored Nightly News, becoming the first openly gay anchor of an evening news programme on a major TV network.
The move also follows an executive order signed by Republican president Donald Trump following his return to the White House to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from the federal government and military.
The order claimed DEI is akin to sex and racial discrimination and inadvertently “undermines leadership, merit and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness”.
As a result, the military has removed web pages dedicated to WWII Navajo code talkers and even flagged images of famed World War II aircraft Enola Gay for deletion.
The order has influenced businesses, which have been subjected to right-wing boycotts over DEI programmes.
However, even before Trump took office, a growing number of companies had backtracked on their DEI commitments following vocal opposition from right-wing pundits, mainly anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck, who pressured Walmart, Ford, Harley-Davidson, and Tractor Supply to rein in their DEI efforts.
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