Gone in Grand Rapids

And you can add Grand Rapids to the growing list of markets feeling the pinch from cowards in Cincy.

Employees at WXMI were handed pink slips as parent company Scripps continues to roll out its corporate "transformation plan", which, of course translates to fewer people doing more work.

The layoffs at WXMI affect multiple positions as the station group pivots away from traditional local broadcast staffing models in favor of centralized news operations, automation, and streaming initiatives.

Scripps executives like to frame these moves using corporate buzzwords like "operational efficiency" and "adapting to market disruption." But for the staff on the floor at WXMI, it simply means empty chairs and pink slips.

This isn't an isolated incident. The cuts at WXMI are part of a broader, station-wide slicing spree across Scripps properties nationwide as the company scrambles to manage debt and restructure operations.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: when corporate suits talk about "transforming for the future of streaming," it’s almost always the local newsroom workers who pay the price.