Updated at 7:13 p.m.
Vermont’s joint NPR and PBS station, Vermont Public, announced Wednesday that it cut 15 positions from its staff and reduced two full-time positions to part-time. The cuts meant 13 staffers lost their jobs, according to the network’s CEO, Vijay Singh.
The reductions come just over a month after Congress, acting on a request from President Donald Trump, voted to claw back more than $1 billion in federal funding for public media stations around the country. For Vermont Public, which is based in Colchester, that means a loss of $2 million — or 10% of its total budget — for the current year. Wednesday’s cuts are expected to save the station $1.5 million.
“It’s heartbreaking to have to make these choices,” Singh said Wednesday. “And yet, they’re necessary to ensure the longevity of this institution — and to make sure that we can continue to have as big of an impact for our community as we possibly can.”
Wednesday’s cuts impacted a reporter and hosts of some Vermont Public programs, Singh said, though he declined to specify which beat or shows would see changes. He said the station would not eliminate any existing programs as a result, though he did not rule out such changes in the future. He said a future round of layoffs was less likely.
“There are hosts who people love and have built relationships with — and I’m sure some folks will feel the loss there,” Singh said.
One of the two positions reduced from full- to part-time Wednesday is currently vacant, Singh said. Overall, the cuts amounted to 14% of Vermont Public’s workforce, according to a statement the organization released Wednesday afternoon.
Singh described Wednesday’s layoffs as a “direct response” to the funding cuts that Congress approved in mid-July. He said the station had already taken steps to trim other operating costs before looking to lay off staff, including a decision by the station’s executives to take a pay cut. The radio and TV network “turned over every stone,” he explained, “but the staff line in our budget is the biggest expense we have.”
In the weeks since Congress decided to cut public media funding, Vermont Public has raised more than $1 million from supporters, Singh said — half the amount that the station is losing this year. But the CEO contended that while that fundraising blitz gave the station a short-term cushion, it was still staring down long-term instability.
“Perhaps if someone came out of the woodwork and, you know, donated millions and millions of dollars, we might be in a different position,” he said. “We’re appreciative of what we were able to fill in the gap from what people have donated — but still, still a lot of work ahead of us to address our financial situation.”
The station has reported millions more in expenses than revenue in recent years, according to filings with the federal government, and Singh said last month that it regularly relies on its substantial investment fund to make up the gap. The station’s leaders have been hesitant to dip into the fund further, even to make up for federal funding losses, Singh has said, questioning whether that would only accelerate the station’s financial issues.
Much of Vermont Public’s investment fund comes from the 2017 sale of a Vermont PBS broadcast license to the federal government, which totaled $56 million. The public TV station merged with Vermont Public Radio in 2021 under the joint name Vermont Public. The organization listed $60.5 million in investment assets at the end of June 2024.
Vermont Public said in its Wednesday statement that the network also faces “many of the same business pressures being felt in Vermont and in public media writ large,” including “skyrocketing healthcare costs, changes to the fundraising landscape, economic uncertainty and evolving media habits of our audience.”
Wednesday’s layoffs come as Vermont has lost more than 1,000 journalism jobs over the past decade, according to research from the University of Vermont. There are 75% fewer people working in the news business in the state today than there were in the year 2000.
Clarification: Vermont Public updated its own announcement about the layoffs to clarify the number of positions the outlet cut versus how many employees were impacted. This story was updated to reflect that change.
