PBS cuts 34 jobs as funding cuts loom

As it faces a significant funding cuts, PBS laid off 34 staffers Sept. 4, 2025.

I addition to 34 layoffs, which is about 15% of its staff, the non-profit public media organization has also opted not to fill certain vacant positions. In addition to this hiring freeze, staffer pay increases were suspended and the organization began restricting travel in an attempt to trim its costs.

However, PBS ultimately noted that the staffing reductions, along with other cost-saving strategies, were necessary to ensure it can move forward after Congress voted to cut funding to public media as part of Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”

PBS, which is not a network but operates more as a distributor and production company, receives about 15% of its annual budget from the soon-to-be-shuttered Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which serves as a sort of intermediary between those federal funds and public media stations and programming providers.

The larger issue, however, is that the majority of CPB’s budget goes to help smaller PBS and NPR stations, often ones serving more rural areas, stay on the air and keep the lights on because they have traditionally faced more financial challenges.

NPR is a separate organization from PBS and has its own staff, budgets and operations. It also receives federal funding, as do its member radio stations, though the national organization relies less on these dollars in terms of a percentage of its budget.

Because of this, PBS also opted to lower the dues its member stations pay, though it’s not clear if that will be enough to save smaller stations.

What is certain to happen, however, is that PBS will receive less funding from dues revenue in addition to the elimination of the funding it receives from CPB.

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In return, PBS provides these stations with a variety of programming. Much of this is focused on news, culture and the arts and educational content, which has long made the CPB, NPR and PBS the target of Republican leaders who have accused this content of catering to left-leaning views. 

Supporters of the CPB cuts also argue that the broader range of content being produced as part of the burst of original content being created for streaming and digital platforms makes federal funding unnecessary. 

Public media has also been the target of the FCC, which has questioned the long-standing practice of stations airing underwriting messages, claiming these spots violate the terms of non-commercial television station licenses. PBS and NPR stations do acknowledge corporations and organization that support them, but are barred from including any direct calls to action in this messaging, which would classify them as advertisements. 

Proponents of the CPB maintain that the type and quality of the programming carried by PBS and NPR member stations is difficult to find elsewhere. Many smaller stations are also likely to face more significant challenges and may ultimately be forced to go off the air, which could cut off some vital emergency notifications, key news and information about local issues, agriculture and more.