Discovery Communications laid off an unspecified number of employees at the Scripps Networks Interactive offices in Knoxville, TN. A company spokesperson confirmed the job cuts, but refused to say how many people would lose their jobs.
AdAge reported in mid-July that Discovery was reorganizing its ad sales team following the merger with Scripps Networks, appointing three sales leads who would oversee sales for groups of channels. That reorganization resulted in more than 20 staffers losing their jobs.
Staffers received pink slips just as Discovery CEO David Zaslav signed a new, lucrative contract that would keep him at the media company through 2023.
In Knoxville, an undisclosed number of people lost their jobs, but the overall headcount will remain the same, as Discovery locates its national operations headquarters to Tennessee.
Scripps employed about 1,000 in the Knoxville area prior to the Discovery acquisition. In a deal announced last fall, Discovery bought Scripps in a $14.6 billion cash-and-stock deal. That includes Discoverys assumption of Scripps $2.7 billion debt. The deal closed March 6.
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