“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still being felt in all sectors of the economy, something that could have a profound impact on a diversified company like ours,” a Sinclair spokesman said in a statement. told CNN Business. “From local businesses and advertisers to distributors and partners, no component of our business ecosystem is completely protected from the impact of the global pandemic.”
“In response, we are currently undergoing enterprise-wide reductions in our staff, including head office, to ensure we are well positioned for future success,” the Sinclair spokesman added.
The Sinclair spokesman told CNN Business that the company has 9,211 employees. A 5% decrease would mean that about 460 people would lose their jobs.
Employees were notified of the dismissal in a memo Wednesday night from Chris Ripley, the company’s president and CEO.
“This decision was not taken lightly,” Ripley wrote. “Over the past year, we’ve seen many of our peers reduce massively, a step we did not want to take while cutting elsewhere, including capital budgets, discretionary spending and unnecessary expenses.”
Ripley said the ‘proactive steps’ mean the staff reduction would be significantly smaller if the company did not take such measures. He also said that ‘staff affected will be withdrawn and that all placement services will be offered.’
Nevertheless, Ripley added: “This is undoubtedly one of the most difficult messages in my career.”
“But despite the challenge, I remain immensely proud of the intellect, ingenuity and collection of will of our team,” Ripley wrote. “You have proven that you are the best team in the business. And it is this spirit, in each of us and collectively, that I know we will carry through.”