• by January 15, 2001

(AP) - Saying "we must go beyond belt-tightening," NBC's president informed employees Friday the company will reduce its work force by up to 600 jobs.

In a memo issued to NBC employees and provided to The Associated Press, network President Bob Wright said the cuts would begin in a few weeks and involve about 5% to 10% of the 6,000-member work force.

The cuts will come in every division, including entertainment and news, as well as cable networks MSNBC and CNBC, and NBC-owned stations. Some of the cuts will be through attrition, Wright said.

"It is no secret that the current economic climate is affecting our business," Wright said.

Meanwhile, CNN insiders said that network will lay off 500 to 1,000 people, the biggest cuts in its 20-year history. The cuts, which were widely expected after America Online's acquisition of CNN's parent Time Warner Inc., will be announced next week, according to network sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The layoffs primarily will involve the company's online division, the sources said. Last fall, CNN executives told employees that each position was being reviewed as part of a network-wide reorganization coinciding with the AOL Time Warner merger. Federal regulators approved that deal Thursday.

CNN announced plans last August for a major restructuring, saying it would aggressively integrate its television and Internet operations. However, no details, including how many jobs would be cut, were announced.

On Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that 500 to 1,000 jobs would be cut, mostly in the online division. Sources at the network confirmed those plans to the AP. The network does "not speculate on personnel matters," CNN spokeswoman Sue Binford said.

CNN employs about 4,300 people, with 2,800 of those at its Atlanta headquarters. For both networks, the job cuts come as the advertising market sours.

In addition, NBC's programming costs continue to soar. A hiring freeze has been in effect at NBC since October, said NBC spokeswoman Kassie Canter.

The NBC broadcast network in particular has had a less than stellar season. Four of its seven new series were instant flops.

NBC has failed to launch a new hit sitcom in years and has fallen behind in developing reality shows, such as CBS' "Survivor."

Entertainment President Garth Ancier was fired in December, and his successor, Jeff Zucker, told reporters Wednesday he would seek more variety in NBC's programming. But he added, "We need to find some comedies that work" beyond established shows like "Friends."

In 1998, faced with escalating costs to keep hits like "ER" and "Mad About You" on its schedule, NBC eliminated about 250 jobs.