Scripps layoffs: the broadcaster cut 268 jobs and its chief executive says new AI systems made the shift possible

The E.W. Scripps Company cut 268 jobs across its local TV stations, and chief executive Adam Symson told staff that new AI systems built in-house are what make the change possible. "268 colleagues we work alongside are losing their jobs," Symson wrote in a company-wide memo on 4 August 2026, calling the job cuts part of a new phase of the broadcaster's transformation plan: 24/7 local news streams, centralised digital production, and technology and automation used to shift resources toward local reporting. "New AI systems and other technology designed and developed by Scripps employees is making this possible," he wrote, adding that three years of investment in automated workflows lets the company "allocate fewer resources to production tasks and more to reporting from the field." A Scripps spokeswoman told the Detroit News the impacted roles are "primarily tied to digital and traditional newscast production workflows, with some positions including producers and directors," including at WXYZ in Detroit and Fox 17 in Grand Rapids. Symson framed it as transformation rather than cost-cutting: "At a time when many in our industry are responding to economic pressure with cuts alone, our goal is to build a different, more sustainable model for serving audiences." The memo does not deny an AI link; it credits AI for the production work the newsroom now needs fewer people for. Once verified, the cut is counted in the AI layoffs tracker on this site (/ai-layoffs-tracker).