iHeart used the nascent pandemic in early 2020 to fire an estimated 1,000 employees and that was following a pre-pandemic cutback of about the same number.
Audacy was the most aggressive firer of all radio groups in 2021 due to its inability to hit its revenue numbers or equal pre-covid statistics.
Cumulus shrunk Westwood One, pared down its local stations through the use of voice tracking and syndication.
We’re one quarter away from an official recession which is defined as two consecutive down quarters in the real gross domestic product (GDP), an inflation-adjusted value of the goods and services produced in the United States.
The first quarter of this year was down 1.4%.
The second quarter which should become evident in July could be two in a row.
Some groups will jump almost immediately and others will take a short wait-and-see but there is a sense of what order the radio industry will see a return to layoffs.
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