Glenn Beck announces layoffs at The Blaze, Mercury Radio Arts: ‘We are not PBS’

Radio host Glenn Beck told supporters Thursday that his media empire has undergone another round of layoffs.

The payroll of Mercury Radio Arts and TheBlaze once tallied around 300 people before financial problems and internal divisions forced Mr. Beck to shrink his workforce. The pundit released an op-ed Thursday titled, “A message from Glenn Beck: A Heavy Heart and the Road Ahead,” to formally address the company’s future.

“Today, we said goodbye to just over 20 percent of the combined workforce of Mercury Radio Arts and TheBlaze (with most of the changes happening at TheBlaze),” Mr. Beck said. “We are losing a lot of talented and committed colleagues, who are some of the best human beings I know  —  some have been friends of mine for 30 years.”

The political commentator went on to discuss the “gut-wrenching decisions” he had to make, which come just four years after he received the Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award at the Tribeca Film Festival.

“We are not PBS,” Mr. Beck said. “No government institution is going to write us a giant check. The structural challenges facing media companies today are real; but, when someone  — anyone  — tells me that something can’t be done, it only makes me more determined to prove them wrong.”

The Daily Beast estimated the size of Mr. Beck’s empire at 150 employees as of February 2016, although another 40 employees were reportedly let go within months.

“This community has done and will continue to do miraculous things,” Mr. Beck said. “Even in this difficult week, our audience has come together to raise over one million dollars for those in the path of Hurricane Harvey. Our advertisers donated food and water filtration systems. Our partners had semi-trucks on the road on Thursday taking supplies to affected areas. This community, which has formed organically over the years, continues to inspire us to be better. Thank you for being a part of this.

“My purpose is clearer today than it has been in years: Love, Courage, Truth,” he said. “As difficult as the changes we made today have been, this was an important first step in getting to where we are going.”