About a quarter of \u201cCBS Evening News\u201d staffers eligible for buyouts have chosen the option ahead of impending layoffs under editor in chief Bari Weiss, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n
Eleven staffers opted for buyouts, which were only offered to non-unionized employees, a source with knowledge of the matter said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
They include at least six producers out of the show\u2019s total of roughly 20, according to another source, who added: \u201cSeems like people are jumping ship.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of people,\u201d a CBS insider said. <\/p>\n
Roughly 25% of non-union staffers of Tony Dokoupil\u2019s \u201cCBS Evening News\u201d took a buyout to leave the network. CBS News<\/p>\n
The \u201cEvening News\u201d has over 40 non-unionized staffers, a source said.<\/p>\n
A CBS News rep declined to comment.<\/p>\n
Last month, the network announced the \u201cextraordinary chance\u201d for eligible staffers to take a one-time voluntary buyout <\/a>ahead of company-wide layoffs that could kick off as soon as March, according to a source.<\/p>\n The offer came after Weiss told employees in a January townhall<\/a> that they were free to leave if they didn\u2019t like her strategy for the struggling news division.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a free country, and I completely respect if you decide I\u2019m not the right leader for you, or this isn\u2019t the right place at the right time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss offered \u201cEvening News\u201d staffers a voluntary buyout, following a townhall meeting where she laid out her vision for the company. CBS via Getty Images<\/p>\n At the town hall, which came as Weiss has sought to shake up the network, she said she wants to invest in more \u201crevelatory journalism\u201d and emphasize \u201cinvestigative scoops\u201d that will take advantage of both online and traditional platforms.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to look honestly at ourselves. We are not producing a product that enough people want,\u201d Weiss said, adding that she hopes to \u201cearn\u201d the trust of CBS News staffers along the way.<\/p>\n She also named a slew of new contributors<\/a> including the controversial anti-aging influencer Peter Attia, whose email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein has recently revealed a chummy relationship <\/a>with the convicted sex trafficker.<\/p>\n CBS News is expected to endure another round of layoffs as early as March under Weiss. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post<\/p>\n Attia said on X earlier<\/a> this month that he\u2019s ashamed\u201d of his \u201ctasteless and indefensible\u201d correspondence with Epstein \u2014 which included an email in which he told the pervert that \u201cp\u2014y is, indeed, low carb.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite internal outrage and calls for the network to cut ties with Attia, Weiss \u00a0\u2014 a longtime critic of cancel culture \u2014 has been sticking by her hire, The Post first reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n