Santa Monica College’s KCRW is the latest NPR affiliate to fall victim to layoffs following the Trump administration’s rescission of federal funding for public media. KCRW President Jennifer Ferro cited a “new budget reality” in a letter sent to supporters on Friday.
In that letter, first shared by Variety, KCRW has laid off roughly 10% of its staff, including several of its most recognizable on-air personalities.
The reductions include longtime music hosts Jason Kramer, Jeremy Sole, and José Galván, each of whom confirmed their exits on social media. Among the programming changes, Elvis Mitchell’s long-running interview series The Treatment will move into Weekend Edition Saturday, returning the program to a time slot it previously held on the station.
Ferro said a new on-air music lineup featuring new hosts will debut in the coming weeks.
The layoffs mark KCRW’s latest in a series of staff reductions over the past five years. The station cut 20% of its workforce in 2020 amid pandemic-driven revenue losses and offered voluntary buyouts last year to close a $3 million budget shortfall, leading to the cancellation of Greater LA. A staff buyout in January 2024 led to the departure of Morning Becomes Eclectic co-host Anthony Valadez and All Things Considered host Janaya Williams.
Other public broadcasters forced into layoffs by the rescission include Vermont Public, which has cut 14% of its staff; Community Radio for Northern Colorado, which cut ten of its 38 employees; American Public Media Group, which reduced its workforce by 6%; and WFAE and South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Rhode Island’s newly merged public media group is considering layoffs.
