WQED to lay off 35% of staff due to federal funding cuts

WQED Multimedia in Pittsburgh will lay off 19 staffers, the station announced Wednesday.

The layoffs represent 35% of the station’s full- and part-time staff, CEO Jason Jedlinski told Current in an email. The organization runs a TV station and a classical radio station. 

The majority of the positions cut are in the marketing, membership and production departments, according to a WQED press release announcing the workforce reduction. The cuts are a response to the elimination of CPB funding earlier this month, WQED said. 

The organization faces the loss of $1.8 million annually in CPB  funding and expects to take on new expenses, such as music licensing costs that CPB has covered for public broadcasters.  

“As I’ve said, ‘WQED is not going anywhere,’” Jedlinski said in the release. “We will continue broadcasting PBS shows, even though the national schedule will inevitably change. We will continue sharing classical music and celebrating this region’s remarkable cultural scene as southwestern Pennsylvania’s Voice of the Arts. We will continue educating and inspiring learners of all ages with free, trusted, and accessible content.”

The news release also cited grants from other federal agencies that have been “suspended” and “long-deferred repairs and neglected infrastructure needs that have become critical.” 

“This was a very difficult decision,” Jedlinski said in the release. “We value the contributions of every departing colleague and thank them for their commitment, creativity, and meaningful service.”

The station will offer benefits through the end of the calendar year and severance to employees who were laid off, according to the release. 

WQED received a $62,000 grant from the Ready To Learn program in fiscal year 2024, according to CPB’s database of its grantmaking. The Department of Education program, which CPB and PBS jointly managed under a five-year contract, supported public television’s educational preschool programming and outreach. After DOE terminated all RTL grants, CPB notified all grantees in May to stop their work.

“We were reimbursed in full for various FY25 grants from several federal agencies — except for a small amount remaining in this five-year tranch of Ready to Learn (via CPB), which was halted May 2nd,” Jedlinski told Current. “Given the current funding climate, we know it will be more difficult for public media organizations to earn federal grants.”

Earlier this year, the station suspended The Creator Academy, a youth media education program, and laid off five employees.