PBS Utah, KUER lay off 8 employees
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PBS Utah and KUER in Salt Lake City have laid off a combined eight employees following last year’s rescission of federal funding for CPB.
Six of the staffers were at PBS Utah, and two were at KUER, according to a statement provided to Current by Maria O’Mara, executive director of the stations. Five additional workers at PBS Utah will retire early.
No more layoffs are planned, the statement added.
“Utahns are very generous, and private donations to the stations have increased in the last six months,” the statement said. “But it was not enough to close the roughly $3 million gap in revenue across the stations.”
The statement added that programming changes will be minimal and “the stations will not diminish their commitment to school readiness and literacy for Utah children, local news and civic conversation, and the celebration of art, history and life-long learning.”
In the fiscal year ending June 2024, federal grants made up more than $491,500 of KUER’s $6.6 million in revenue, its financial statement shows.
For PBS Utah, federal grants accounted for more than $1.9 million of $11.9 million in total revenue in the fiscal year ending June 2024, its financial statement shows.
