Los Angeles news station KNBC is losing some of its most experienced on-camera talent to buyouts.
Evening news anchor Chuck Henry, as well as reporters Beverly White, Vikki Vargas, Kim Baldonado and Angie Crouch have agreed to take “voluntary early retirement” packages, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday night.
The veteran staffers will leave the station — known to viewers as NBC Los Angeles — at the end of the month.
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An individual with knowledge of the situation told Urban Hollywood 411 station management sent out an email last month offering employees age 57 and older, who’ve been with the station at least ten years, “generous” buyout packages. The email warned if not enough employees accepted the early retirement offers, layoffs would follow.
The station began laying off additional employees this week, a second individual said. The person noted that the station is losing “decades worth of experience.”
KNBC later posted a story on its website confirming several longtime staffers are leaving.
Vargas, who covers Orange County for the NBC-owned station, announced her retirement Wednesday evening with a video statement posted on Twitter.
“I hope to take the skill of storytelling and maybe use it for the greater good, whatever that looks like,” Vargas said as she fought back tears. “But mostly, I thank you for being part of this with me for 40 years.”
I didn’t want the feeling in my heart to get lost in the written word so I decided to announce my retirement transition this way, marking both an end and the beginning. pic.twitter.com/JyC3YJNvON
— Vikki Vargas (@VikkiNBCLA) December 8, 2022
Beverly White joined the station as a general assignment reporter in 1992, and just recently celebrated her 30th anniversary with the station.
Kim Baldonado began working at KNBC in 1995, according to her station bio page. Angie Crouch has been a general assignment reporter at KNBC since 2004.
Chuck Henry, who co-anchors the 5p.m., 6p.m. and 11p.m. newscasts, became a full-time KNBC employee in 1994.
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An October article in The Hollywood Reporter, said the station’s parent company, NBCUniversal, is looking to cut costs and reduce staff ranks company-wide, including in the film, TV, news and theme parks divisions. The story said declining television ratings and streaming service Peacock’s slow subscriber growth were to blame.
Peacock has about 15 million paying subscribers. In comparison, Disney+ reported a total of 164.2 million global subscribers for its 2022 fiscal year. And Netflix reached 223.09 million global subscribers during its third quarter.
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