Cumulus Media’s Turn To Make Sacrifices

• Following similar wide-ranging (and painful) COVID-19-related personnel cutbacks announced in recent days by iHeartMedia, Entercom, Beasley, Townsquare and Radio One, Cumulus Media has now informed its employees about the challenging path the company must now follow.

While no one is speaking on the record, RAMP has learned from multiple sources that Cumulus CEO Mary Berner broke the tough news to the staff on Tuesday via video message. Among the main points: 1) Berner (left) will take a 50% pay cut, while the rest of the Cumulus executive leadership team will take a 25% cut and give up their bonuses for the year; 2) Salaried employees will take three non-consecutive weeks of unpaid leave in one-week installments over the next 15 weeks. Others will take 90-day pay cuts, and 3) a third group of employees, whose daily duties have been reduced or eliminated, have been placed on a 90-day furlough, starting April 16.

Berner remarked, “Even though these are intended to be temporary actions, I know they are going to land hard — really hard — and that is in the emotional and financial toll that a furlough or salary cut will take on each of you, but also in terms of the increased workload the vast majority of you will have to take on during your co-workers’ furlough weeks. I am truly sorry and sad about this announcement. None of you deserves this.” Berner said the company fully intends to bring all furloughed employees back when normal business operations resume at some point in the future.

Cumulus Chicago VP/Market Manager Marv Nyren told Chicago media journalist Robert Feder that these moves will keep all workers employed without having to resort to layoffs. However, SAG-AFTRA, which represents many on-air employees, raised objections to the plan, saying Cumulus “cannot unilaterally implement changes upon union-represented staff.”