Allen Media Group, the privately held media company which includes the Atlanta-based Weather Channel, made an unspecified number of staff cuts earlier this week.
Spokespersons for The Weather Channel did not return emails and texts for comment, passing my query to an Allen Media Group spokeswoman, who provided this statement:
“Allen Media Group is making strategic changes to better position the company for growth that will result in expense and workforce reductions across all divisions,” the company said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We are aligning these changes to drive future business opportunities and support our growth strategies in our rapidly evolving industry.”
The spokesman didn’t say how many people lost their jobs.
Several producers including Michelle Birnbaum, a 27-year veteran at the network, lost their jobs this week.
“Layoffs are hard as too many of us know these days,” Birnbaum wrote on her public LinkedIn page. “I am also grateful that this is my first one. Still it does not make it any less difficult. I wish only the best for such an iconic brand as The Weather Channel and those still working very hard there every day.”
Trish Landers Ragdale, another senior producer, also noted her job departure on her public social media. “They say all good things must come to an end,” she wrote in a Reels video. “After 14 years at The Weather Channel, I had to say goodbye. Definitely not by choice and not expected. At its best and at its worst, I was truly proud to wear the TWC logo.”
Longtime on-air meteorologist Mike Seidel was also cut. Seidel had been at The Weather Channel since 1992, a 32-year run.
“I’ve done over 25,000 live shots during my tenure at TWC, which include all of the broadcast and cable news networks,” he wrote on his LinkedIn page.
There were also layoffs at some local TV stations Allen Media owns as well as TheGrio, Byron Allen’s multiplatform media outlet for Black Americans.
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