US business television network CNBC is closing its Hong Kong office and pulling the plug on several flagship international daily shows as part of a major operational overhaul across Asia and Europe.
The decision was communicated to staff on Wednesday in an internal memo from the company’s executive management.
According to the memo seen by the South China Morning Post, the broadcaster’s management said it made “a number of very difficult decisions” after evaluating its international programming, commercial viability, and resource deployment over several months.
“As our production needs in Asia evolve, we have made the difficult choice to close our Hong Kong bureau,” the memo read, adding that London, Singapore, Beijing and Abu Dhabi would remain as key production hubs providing studio, editorial and technical capabilities.
A number of roles across several international teams and locations would be eliminated, with affected employees being notified personally, it read.
A CNBC spokesman confirmed to the SCMP on Thursday that programming produced from the Hong Kong office had concluded the day before.
