Layoffs are underway at Univision, as well as cuts in weekend news programming, part of a company restructuring CEO Vince Sadusky announced in a dire staff memo.
In it, Sadusky states a “significant drop in advertising” caused by the coronvirus-induced recession has impacted the company and requires “difficult cost containment actions in order to protect the health of our business moving forward during these unprecedented times.”
Those actions include company-wide layoffs, furloughs and executive pay cuts. Not announced in the April 21 email: the elimination of local newscasts.
Inside sources have confirmed the company has pulled the plug on Saturday newscasts at Univision stations in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, San Antonio, Austin, Arizona, the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and Fresno.
Those newscasts will be replaced by existing local community affairs shows or network programming, but will be ready to interrupt programming to report breaking news.
For the time being, the stations will continue to broadcast Sunday newscasts.
According to a source, some on-air talent at the NY station have been offered buyouts with a Monday, April 27 deadline.
Names of those who lost their jobs – from behind and in front of the cameras – are trickling in. Among them, some who have worked at the company for two decades, like Univision 23’s reporter/anchor Sonia Parissos and Washington, D.C. affiliate correspondent Fernando Pizarro.
Univision’s sports division will be hard hit, since all sporting events have been canceled until further notice.
In his memo, Sadusky wrote the company would be implementing a temporary furlough program that would require some employees to take unpaid time off from one to four weeks. “Others will be furloughed until operations normalize.”
You can read Sadusky’s entire email on Forbes.
So, outer Sadusky doing the crappy laundry for incoming Davis…what a sweet deal, typical Univision, using Covid as the perfect scape goat.
And BTW, did the cleaning include the bunch of imbecile “leaders” and their old and new minions that have crashed that company to hell, since 2010?
Wow, the tides have turned on Univision, and now what Telemundo suffered now it’s you guys. I tell you the Eentravision crisis was the precursor to what was gonna happen with Univision. Wow, Telemundo is gonna be great just one more hit Univision crumbles. Wow that all it affiliates that have weekend news no Saturday Weekend Shows. Just about all affiliates have in-market rival Telemundo affiliates with weekend newscast with the exception of Sacramento, Fresno, and I guess Austin (I don’t think they have a weekend show). Yeah I saw the Univision Friday newscast even Jorge and ilia Calderon look dismal on air not that they report the news but their chemistry just wasn’t the mood wasn’t good.
Wow Pizarro is gone too?! I do not watch univision, but know he had been there a long time.
Please fire Andrea Gonzalez from evening news she doesn’t deserve that position ..she is ilegal here
She has a work visa. Just like many other foreign-born news personalities working in the U.S.
I deal with Univision all the time and they seem not realizing they are not “Univision” from 10 years ago, not feeling sorry for them.
They should take out some idiots on the executive level…stupid lawyer Niza Motola is one of them…just fkng people off…
They should lay off the lady with the show of sex talking on Friday night’s , its not good for are audiences because it’s not necessary we all already now what’s the answer unless you didn’t go school…come on men
If the COVID-19 pandemic is to blame, then we can expect similar announcements from Telemundo, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX…etc.
This is a cop out for UNIVISION blaming the layoffs on Covid 19.
The company has been going under for sometime already.
The infrastructure of the company has been lost to Telemundo.
UNIVISION 41 is unwatchable they are only reporting what they want the viewers to see and believe is no wonder the ratings have gone down the tubes.
People are working hard during these hard times and this is how you repay your employees no wonder why they have jump ship.
Dump your radio division that has only giving no value besides negative revenue.
Www Verónica villafañe está para chuparse los dedos a ella no me la descansen porfa , pero todos los demás si como la Dra del sexo los viernes en la noche ,esa si porque su show no sirve para la comunidad hispana pero allá ustedes..por eso estamos como estamos sin una mejor programa de este canal 34 de los Ángeles.