Oprah Fires a Fifth of Her OWN Employees

Reasons it was "necessary"

Oprah's OWN network has fired a fifth of it's employees, the talk show host revealed yesterday. The company is also planning on restructuring its New York and Los Angeles operations.

Oprah called the decision to let 30 employees go a "tough" one, but reasoned, "As CEO, I have a responsibility to chart the course for long-term success for the network. To wholly achieve that long-term success, this was a necessary next step."

Access Atlanta is reporting that the "economics of a start-up cable network didn't fit with OWN's cost structure."  

The network suffered a dismal first year, being unable to retain viewers or even match the ratings obtained by the previous channel Discovery Health. It saw it's first big success earlier this month when an interview with the late Whitney Houston's daughter Bobbi garnered 3.5 million viewers.

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