Newer and older employees being shown the door today. Fun times in television!
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Ya’ll reaped what you sowed!!
Did you take a stand against the vaccine mandate that terminated near 400 employees? No unemployment!!!
@fhfx
After getting that vaccine too… ya’ll reaped what your sowed, didn’t stand up for the 400 people fired without unemployment …
Hilton Howell the T_rd is the best remark said here , he has always been a low life lawyer
and su-ks off the hind t-t of his wife's dad. worthless money grabber
go back to Waco and spend your non earned money.
I’m hearing there’s going to be a second round.
Anybody know of any directors being laid off I'm currently a TMP at a current Gray Station
So sad. It could have been avoided. Top heavy company. Howell isn’t a broadcaster. Incompetent underlings with no experience in local TV News leading the company into bankruptcy or forced sale. Several former employees out there could come in and get it back on track in 180 days (two quarters) Local ad dollars down cause viewers associate networks with local stations and legacy networks are withering on the vine and dying. Content is still king. It’s fixable but Howell won’t let his ego bring back one of the people who could turn it all back around. It’s not rocket science but these wealthy execs don’t relate to the average viewer and can’t figure it out. Viewer loyalty is an emotional response — not an intellectual reaction.
And the way it was done! Managers smiling in your face and acting like everything is fine even though you’ve already called me them on it! They have some of the fakest phoniest managers at Gray Media! And right here at the holiday season! They swear up and down they care about their employees’ mental health! That’s funny! At least maybe those of us that were laid off were the first to escape the sinking ship that is Gray Media!
Meanwhile I have it on good authority that 3Q profits were up 18% vs what was expected.
Hearing that sales are now getting cuts targeting more senior people in markets where overspending has been happening. Anyone else able to confirm?
Severance: 2 weeks pay. You get a couple weeks paid in lieu and paid for leftover PTO
What have they been giving as a severance package?
Recently got the axe from Gray. At first I was upset, but after reading some of these comments looks like it’s for the best.
The Regional VP/GM at WLBT told everyone yesterday, explained everything and apologized for not being able to tell anyone before it happened.
Want to save some money? End the co-CEO bull cr-p. Why is Pat LaPlatney still there five years after acquiring Raycom? Same can be said about a lot of other execs and VPs they've built up.
The GM of the station I used to work at used to always say “it’s good to be Gray!” whenever Gray bought another station group or announced they were building a f*cking film studio. Like it did us poorly-paid saps any good. God forbid they invest in their employees and not another Ludacris concert or week at a Mexican resort for their GMs, VPs, and corporate higher-ups. And Hilton Howell. If I wrote a story and called a rich CEO by that name, I’d be laughed at for it being too ridiculously rich sounding. What a bunch of buffoons. They reap what they sow.
Who were the people that got cut from WSMV in Nashville and WTVY in Dothan ?
On a positive note, now that Gray has freed up enough revenue from culling livelihoods, the powers that be can now afford another private Ludacris concert for the GMs this year. Legacy points added.
I felt this coming and left 6 weeks ago. Had I stayed I am confident I would have been let go. Gray over promised Wall Street and under delivered HUGELY this year. Political revenues fell very short of projections. They have over extended themselves and grown too fast buying up Meredith and Quincy and spent millions on Assembly Atlanta. The loans are coming due and these cuts are to try to hold up the stock price. Gray has so much corporate bloat! (Check out the Leadership page on their website.) Corporate employees have more than tripled in the last 5 years. If there is fat to cut… it’s at the top! Eliminating jobs at the core of your business centers is severely short sighted and counter productive. When you need revenue, you don’t let go the people who drive your content and sales!
The reason they are doing this is because they over extended themselves buying up the competition. Now they are struggling to pay the bills while keeping their lifestyle from suffering. All at the expense of their loyal employees. When they lay someone off, they just shove the work on to already overworked people who are "lucky" to still have their jobs.
@Alabama Question -- it doesn't seem to be performance-based. WTVY in Dothan let go of one of their best reporter/anchors. I believe it may have more to do with time left in contracts, recent extensions, how much money they think you'll cost to keep, etc.
At WPTA 21 Alive in Fort Wayne, IN, I noticed that early morning anchor Kayla Stewart left "to be a Mom", but that could be genuine or a cut.
Does anyone know if they will do anymore cuts in the Alabama area? Also, what determines who gets laid off?
We lost 2 at WDBJ7..sad state of affairs.
KTVF, KXDF, KFXF in Fairbanks, Alaska is experiencing the same layoffs. Now there will be no local newscasts in interior Alaska.
The bloodletting isnt over by a long shot. We are all expendable at this point.
And the decision as to who is next to be cut has in all likelihood already been made. The ones in the know already know who the dead men walking are. Just a matter of when they choose to do the blind side hit. No "earn your way off the hit list" meritocracy. They might pretend thats the case, just to dupe some folks into nervously going the extra mile thinking they can avoid an appointment with the axe. Which is exactly the mindset they want from the remnant left over: fear-driven compliance. Well, sorry Hilton: Not happening. Not now.
WSAZ in huntington wv lost one but they had a few retirements this year to offset more layoffs. im sure the severance was sad, last time it was one month pay.
This happened at WITN in Greenville, NC as well. Kicked their employees off the curb with a 20 minute notice with a sad severance package.
Layoffs at WSMV happened as well. They axed eight unfilled positions and laid off two departments heads with zero notice.
Anyone know if more Gray stations will be hit? My station has a surplus of anchors/reporters
Had two layoffs. Then was asked to do the job of someone who had been there for 40yrs with no knowledge of how TF she did it.
… but don’t worry our work will be paid in appreciation and pizza, while the Game get another Ludicrous concert.
Gray should be ashamed
WWNY in Watertown NY laid off two bright, up and coming anchors yesterday. Such a shame and a huge mistake!
WTOK in Meridian, MS included in the layoffs.
WVIR’s first layoffs in the history of the company. But Hilton needs more gold chains and toupees.
I left on my own at the end of July from the Sales side. Saw this coming (albeit didn't expect this soon) and didn't want to watch.
I work at a gray station, some of my colleagues were laid off today. No notice, no chance to walk through the newsroom to even gather their belongings, and as soon as they walked out the door they were locked out of their email and any other company site. It’s really sad these people that have spent years/decades working for a company to be treated like they did something wrong.
Remember friends, Hilton Howell The Tu-d … I mean, The Third’s end of year bonus ain’t gonna pay for itself. He kicked 36 of us to the curb a few summers back, then collected a sweet $2.4 million bonus that December.
TV stations are struggling big time and next year look for more layoffs from all broadcast companies. Have a plan B, save your money and don't assume you are safe. These CEOs making millions don't care about you. The industry is collapsing.
WTVY is a big one. Sounding like they let go some of their best staff!!!!
I am one of the layoffs as well. Joy!