The U.S. cable news network RT America informed its employees that it’s halting operations immediately and laying off almost all staff, according to a memo obtained by CNBC.
RT America is an English-language sister network of RT, the Russian state-owned news channel. It’s operated by Russia-backed T&R Productions, which sent a memo Thursday to more than 100 employees informing them their employment will end on May 3, according to a person familiar with the matter.
DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite-TV operator, stopped carrying RT America earlier this week — a decision based on Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Roku followed DirecTV’s lead by removing the network from its Roku Channel Store.
RT America employees found out Wednesday there would be no live programming and were told by management to come back to the office at noon Thursday for more information, according to a person familiar with the matter. There was a brief meeting led by news director Mikhail Solodovnikov, who informed employees RT America was shutting down immediately, the person said.
The news caught some employees off guard. They speculated that program cutbacks could follow the actions taken by DirecTV and Roku but didn’t expect a full-scale shutdown, two of the people said.
CNN first reported RT America’s immediate closure.
