Louisville Public Media offers buyouts, anticipates further cuts

Louisville Public Media announced voluntary buyouts to staff Wednesday, according to an internal email from interim CEO Gabrielle Jones.

The buyout announcement comes less than a year after the organization laid off eight staffers due to a budget shortfall. At the time the organization was facing a budget deficit of more than $750,000. 

LPM continues to face financial pressures, Jones said in the email to staff. “Like many nonprofits and public media stations in particular, we are navigating a challenging financial period due to today’s political and philanthropic landscape,” she wrote. The email was obtained by Current. 

“In consultation with the Board, we’ve made the incredibly difficult decisions to reduce our expenses to cover a cash deficit in this year’s budget and in projections for FY26,” she wrote. 

Jones has not responded to questions from Current. 

LPM is in the midst of recruiting a successor to Stephen George, who announced last October that he would step down as CEO. Finalists for that position “have been brought into this challenge and we’ve made the commitment to make necessary changes now in order to provide them with the best platform to build upon when they begin their tenure here,” Jones wrote.

The buyouts are limited to full- and part-time employees who are not at the manager or director levels and work for LPM stations WUOL, WFPL and WFPK and the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting digital newsroom. Employees who work in development, marketing and administration positions are also eligible.

The severance package includes pay continuation of two weeks for each year an employee has worked for the organization, up to 16 weeks, and a lump sum equal to four weeks of pay. LPM will cover up to three months of COBRA health insurance payments. 

The last work day for employees who take the buyout will be March 28. 

Even with the buyouts, Jones told employees that she anticipates additional job cuts. 

“While we wish this voluntary program would alleviate the need for other actions, we know that it likely won’t be enough,” Jones said in the email. “We anticipate that we’ll still need to freeze some open positions and do layoffs, but we’re hoping to eliminate as few roles as possible. This voluntary program will help with that goal.”

LPM shared the news of buyouts with supporters in a Wednesday email from Jones and Ellen Oost, who is also serving as interim CEO. 

“LPM has undertaken unprecedented growth in the past decade — from our newsroom to our music stations, our digital offerings, and our events.

“All of this was done intentionally to expand our public service, reach new audiences, and advance our mission.  However, this growth has not translated into an increase in revenue. So, we need to take a more conservative posture to protect our core programs and this public resource.”