KCRW restructures with 10% staff reduction

KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif., is reducing its workforce by 10%, according to an email sent to members Friday by CEO Jennifer Ferro.

In the email, which the station shared with Current, Ferro said the station is restructuring to best “position us against the twin challenges of needing to adapt to how people consume media today as well as the loss of federal dollars.”

KCRW didn’t respond to a question about how many people were affected.

The station will roll out a new programming schedule in the “coming weeks” that will include new DJs, she wrote. The Treatment, a pop culture interview program that airs 9–10 a.m. Saturdays, will be heard “inside Weekend Edition Saturday.” 

The station reported nearly $1.3 million in grants from CPB in fiscal year 2024 and total operating revenue for KCRW and the KCRW Foundation of more than $26 million. 

“While this moment is challenging, we believe these changes are necessary to ensure KCRW is positioned for the long-term,” she wrote. 

Three DJs shared news of their departures on social media. “After 27 years, I unfortunately have been let go from KCRW Along with some of the best DJs in the world,” Jason Kramer, who hosted a Sunday evening show, wrote in an Instagram post. Jeremy Sole also shared on Instagram that his time with the station has “come to an end.” And DJ José Galván said in an Instagram post that he was “let go, along with some other staples of the station.”