#Spectrum eliminates news assistant news jobs at NY1

The cable giant that controls the NY1 news station abruptly laid off all of its news assistants on Wednesday.

The extent of the cutbacks couldn’t be immediately assessed and one source said the position has previously been eliminated across Spectrum’s other networks, which runs cable stations in about 30 cities.

At NY1, the cuts appear to involve less than a dozen jobs with one insider saying that the number of positions eliminated was in the single digits as some staffers are already being reassigned new roles.

A Spectrum Networks spokeswoman attributed the cuts to the company’s efforts to “produce more local content in the field rather than keeping them centralized in a newsroom.”

She added: “Several staff members are being reassigned to roles that best suit their particular skills and experience. A few others are being encouraged to apply for open positions across Spectrum Networks.”

But that is small consolation to those jettisoned Wednesday. One NY1 source said there was “no warning” and that those laid off had their access to corporate email cut off immediately.