MPR’s parent company announces layoffs after Congress cuts public media funding

Minnesota Public Radio’s parent company on Thursday announced plans to lay off up to 8% of its employees, a week after Congress cut public media funding.

American Public Media Group plans to cut 5% to 8% of its 500 staff members over the coming weeks, citing a $6 million budget shortfall driven by state and federal funding cuts, Roycie Eppler, the company’s chief people and culture officer, said in a statement on Thursday.

“While we are fortunate among public media organizations to be in a relatively strong financial position,” Eppler said in the statement, “these are significant cuts.”

APMG also will reduce employee benefits as part of the cost-saving measures, Eppler said. The exact number of layoffs has not been determined and will depend on several factors.

The announcement comes just a week after a federal bill that slashed $1.1 billion in previously allocated funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. About 6% of last year’s budget at Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media was from federal funding.

TPT, the Twin Cities PBS television station, also said it is laying off an unspecified number of employees because of federal funding cuts.

However, more than 70% of that funding goes directly to smaller radio stations, some of which are the only outlets for emergency information in their communities.

News of possible cuts helped MPR raise nearly $2 million during its most recent spring pledge drive, but the organization is still feeling the strain from both the federal and state funding decreases, the radio network said.

Both MPR, which broadcasts on 45 stations across Minnesota, and America Public Media (APM), a national producer and distributor of public radio content, will be affected by the cuts.

APM distributes to a network of more than 850 stations programming including “Marketplace,” “This Old House Radio Hour,” “BBC World Service” and “The Daily.”

Employees will be notified of layoffs by mid-August, and APMG plans to offer severance and outplacement services to those impacted, a spokesperson for APMG said. APMG also operates The Current and YourClassical. It is unclear which departments and positions will be affected by the layoffs.