APMG Facing Staff Layoffs
• American Public Media Group, the tax-exempt, nonprofit parent organization of American Public Media (APM), Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), and Southern California Public Radio (LAist) announced it will be laying off 5 to 8% of its staff and making other cost reductions after state and federal funding cuts led to a $6 million budget gap.
Company leaders informed staff of the upcoming reductions at a meeting last Thursday and confirmed the cuts in a statement to MPR News. APMG employs about 500 people, but it said the eventual scope of the layoffs will depend on multiple factors.
“While we are fortunate among public media organizations to be in a relatively strong financial position, these are significant cuts,” said Roycie Eppler, APMG’s Chief People & Culture Officer. “We shared with staff that we will be implementing cost savings including some reductions in employee benefits and a strategic reduction in force in the coming weeks. We are working through details with care and respect and will continue to keep our team updated.”
Eppler said the company will also make some reductions to employee benefits to make up the budget deficit.
By now you know the backstory — the loss of funding comes in part from Congress’ recent passage of that $9 billion rescission package aimed at clawing back money already allocated for public radio and television — a major step toward winding down nearly six decades of federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which acts as a conduit for federal money to NPR, PBS and their member stations. CPB stands to lose $1.1 billion meant to fund it through the next two years, while the bill also cuts $7.9 billion in other programs. Federal funding makes up about 6 percent of MPR’s budget.
