NBC News is making major cuts to its newsroom, and the layoffs are hitting its diversity teams the hardest. About 150 staffers, roughly 7% of the newsroom, are being let go as NBC prepares for a corporate shake-up under its parent company, Comcast.
According to reports from Business Insider and The Wrap, the layoffs come as part of a larger restructuring tied to Comcast’s plan to spin off NBC’s cable networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, into a new entity called Versant. The move is being described internally as a “realignment” to prepare for the company’s next chapter.
But behind that corporate language lies a serious blow to representation in media. Among those affected are teams from NBC BLK, NBC Latino, NBC Asian America, and NBC OUT, verticals specifically created to highlight stories from Black, Latino, Asian American, and LGBTQ+ communities.
While NBC says coverage of these communities will continue, it confirmed the dedicated teams behind those platforms will be dismantled. Instead, stories about diverse communities will be folded into the broader newsroom, a move that many journalists fear could dilute focus and depth.
The cuts come at a time when major media outlets are scaling back on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts amid industry-wide cost pressures and political scrutiny. Earlier this year, the FCC launched an investigation into Comcast over its promotion of DEI programs, raising questions about whether the company’s latest restructuring could be linked to that probe.
NBC executives say affected employees can apply for roughly 140 open positions within the company, but for many, the message is clear: newsroom diversity is once again on the chopping block.
