PBS said it will be cutting 15% of its workforce in response to the GOP-led effort in Congress that eliminated all federal funding for public broadcasting, reported NPR.
In total, the nonprofit network, known for its educational programming and local journalism, will be cutting around 100 jobs.
PBS stations across the country received roughly 15% of their annual finances from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting before Congress eliminated the funding in July, forcing the CPB to shut down by the end of the fiscal year in September.
RELATED STORY | Corporation for Public Broadcasting to close after GOP cuts federal funding
CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation authorized by Congress in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. About 70% of the funds it receives — close to $525 million — go to approximately 1,500 public television and radio stations in the U.S., including PBS and NPR.
Before Congress approved the funding cuts, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May preventing the CPB from funding PBS and NPR, claiming it was "biased media."
In an earlier interview with Scripps News, PBS President Paula Kerger said the funding cuts would really hinder PBS stations in rural areas.
RELATED STORY | PBS president tells Scripps News legislation would cause some rural stations to close
NPR CEO Katherine Maher echoed that statement in an interview with Stephen Colbert. Maher said without the federal funding, approximately 80 of NPR's 246 radion stations may have to shut down.
