iHeartMedia has begun another round of layoffs across its radio division.
The cuts began on Tuesday (June 23) and rolled out across stations in markets across the country through the week, according to RadioInsight, which has tracked the named exits.
iHeartMedia framed the cuts as part of a change to how it programs its stations, in a memo sent to staff by Multiplatform Group CEO Ann Marie Licata and Chief Programming Officer Tom Poleman.
“As the number one company in audio, our business model is to build engaged relationships with listeners and then monetize those relationships,” the iHeartMedia executives wrote.
They said iHeartMedia was “now taking an important step that will move us further into the future: Evolving how we program our stations to reward and develop our leading and up-and-coming talent.”
The memo pledged that “Guaranteed Human” would stay “at the core of everything we do,” and that “real voices and real talent strengthen our real connection and commitment to our communities.”
On the cuts themselves, Licata and Poleman wrote that the changes were built around speed for advertisers.
“Faster is better, and that’s the goal of our changes.”
Ann Marie Licata and Tom Poleman, iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group
“Faster is better, and that’s the goal of our changes,” the iHeartMedia memo read.
The executives wrote that iHeartMedia had “built new tech capabilities over the last several years” and was “now moving to scale this approach.”
They added that “some colleagues and existing positions will be impacted as part of these changes,” while saying iHeartMedia would also create new roles.
Reports placed the number of people affected in the dozens.
RadioInsight reported that, while the company’s January 2009 and January 2020 layoffs may have affected more people in absolute terms, this round will hit a larger share of iHeartMedia’s remaining workforce.
Nick Coffey, who left mornings at News/Talk 840 WHAS in Louisville after more than a decade with iHeartMedia, said he was told he was “one of the hundreds of employees impacted.”
Among the iHeartMedia staff who left were on-air hosts and programmers whose tenures ran to two and three decades.
In Denver, Bret Saunders exited as morning host at 97.3 KBCO after 28 years at the station.
In Fort Myers, The Freak Show ended at 105.5 The Beat after almost 25 years, and in Anchorage, programmer Casey Bieber departed after 23 years with the cluster.
Two of the company’s programming heads also left: Clint Gerlek in Springfield, after 19 years, and Nathan Nelson, vice president of programming for the Kentucky area, after 16 years.
Amy Demboski, who exited mornings at News/Talk 670 KENI in Anchorage after three years, said the company was changing direction.
“iHeartMedia is shifting their focus from local content to a national focus,” she wrote on social media.
The layoffs are tied to a cost-cutting program iHeartMedia outlined alongside its first-quarter results in May.
The company said it anticipated a further USD $50 million in annualized cost savings this year, to begin in the second half of 2026.
That sits on top of around $100 million in cost reductions iHeartMedia had already planned or made during the year.
The two programs together amount to about $150 million.
The cuts come as iHeartMedia manages the debt it has carried since emerging from bankruptcy in 2019.
The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2018 and cut its debt through restructuring from $16.1 billion to $5.75 billion, and it still carries around $5 billion in debt.
iHeartMedia operates more than 860 radio stations across 160 markets.
In April, it was reported to be in early talks to be acquired by SiriusXM, in a deal that would combine two audio companies under pressure from streaming.
Within iHeartMedia‘s own business, radio revenue fell 4% in 2025, while podcasting revenue grew 26%.
Americans now spend more time listening to podcasts than to AM/FM spoken-word (talk) radio, according to Edison Research.
Broadcast radio still accounts for roughly two-thirds of US ad-supported audio listening, the firm’s Share of Ear study has found, though digital platforms now make up more than half of total daily listening time.
iHeartMedia‘s cuts follow a run of upheaval across US radio.
Rival Cumulus Media filed for its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, seeking to shed about $600 million in debt.
Audacy, the second-largest US radio company, laid off as many as 300 staff in 2025 after emerging from its own bankruptcy the year before.
For iHeartMedia, the technology framing of this round echoes an earlier one.
In January 2020, the company cut more than 50 on-air staff and employees while citing “significant investments” it had made “in technology and artificial intelligence.”
This time, the company’s memo pledged that “Guaranteed Human” would remain “at the core of everything we do.”Music Business Worldwide
