WTVP is laying off nine people, days after the station's board of directors slashed the budget by nearly a third to stem the station's financial losses.
The station currently still has 27 employees listed on its website. Those employees were all listed on the page before Friday's layoffs happened.
In a press release, interim station manager Julie Sanders says it's not an easy decision, but it is necessary to ensure the PBS station's long-term sustainability. She said the layoffs impact all areas of station operations.
The laid-off employees received severance packages.
Sanders referred questions about how the layoffs may impact WTVP programming or Peoria Magazine to board chairman Andrew Rand.
The board of directors has blamed the previous management for many of the station's financial woes. Meeting minutes say the board of directors' executive committee took a larger role in managing station finances after the station's leadership tapped credit lines and sold off assets to sustain its short-term cash flow in July without prior board knowledge. Former president and CEO Lesley Matuszak was found dead a day after resigning last month.
WTVP has served Central Illinois since 1971. The public television station covers the Peoria, Bloomington-Normal, and Galesburg areas.
