Lays Off 200 Employees, Including Teresa Rodríguez El Nuevo Herald

María Celeste Arrarás and Teresa Rodríguez. Alberto E Tamargo Special/the new herald

Spanish-language television in the United States is once again shaken by a wave of layoffs that is also reaching the Univision channel. 200 jobs were cut in the areas of production, sports, communications, digital and also among the talent who represent the station on air.

Among those affected by the cuts is veteran anchor Teresa Rodríguez, who joined the station in 1982 as anchor of Univision News. The winner of 15 Emmy Awards will no longer be an exclusive figure of TelevisaUnivision but will continue to work with the network.

Since leaving the newsmagazine Aqui and Now in 2021, Rodríguez hosted the special segment Univisionarios, which focused on highlighting the contributions and achievements of prominent Hispanics in the United States.

The layoffs carried out on January 16 and 17 also affected one of the hosts from the quarry of the reality show Nuestra Belleza Latina, the Honduran Sirey Morán, winner of the 2021 edition, and the football player and sports analyst Félix Fernández , host of the TUDN in Mexico and the USA.

The Cuban-American presenter Teresa Rodríguez, one of the most prominent journalists of Hispanic television in the United States, will not be an exclusive figure of TelevisaUnivisión, which laid off 200 employees on January 16 and 17. Courtesy of Univision

Among the losses, TelevisaUnivision talent lamented the end of one of the longest-running shows on Hispanic television, República Deportiva, which had aired for 25 years.

Layoffs in Hispanic media are part of a national trend

The changes, layoffs and cuts not only affect TelevisaUnivision, which changed its name when it merged with the Mexican broadcaster in 2022, but have also long hit several media companies, which cut more than 20,000 jobs last year.

“The evolution of the media landscape has required us to implement efficiency improvements and cost reduction measures to meet existing requirements and in turn strengthen our business for the future,” explained TelevisaUnivision. “As a result, TelevisaUnivision has made the difficult decision to eliminate a small number of U.S. positions across various business units. “We greatly value the affected employees and their contributions and will assist and support them through this transition.”

Telemundo also halted production of soap operas in December and laid off executives and producers. The start of the new year brought with it the dismissal of producer Diógenes Lluberes, who was the driving force behind the changes in the morning show Hoy día that led to the departure of Adamari López after eleven years at the channel. The Puerto Rican actress and presenter is now taking part in the competition, hosting “Who Will Fall?”, which airs Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. on Unimás. Another character fired from Telemundo, Stephanie Himonidi's “Chiquibaby,” is now a member of the Univision hosting team on the 3 p.m. channel Siétese Who Can!

This story was originally published on January 17, 2024 at 6:34 p.m.