NPR seeks to reduce staff by 10%, names Paul Haaga Jr. acting CEO

Facing a deficit, NPR is reducing staff.

The public radio institution said Friday that it is introducing a voluntary buyout plan to its employees to reduce its workforce by about 10% as part of a two-year plan to balance its budget.

The organization said its 2014 fiscal year budget includes an operating cash deficit of $6.1 million, or 3% of its revenues, which amount to $178.1 million.

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The budget includes expenses of $183 million.

NPR has about 840 employees, including full-time and part-time workers. Employees eligible for the buyout will receive details before the end of next week.

The nonprofit also said it has named Paul G. Haaga Jr. as its acting chief executive and president effective Sept. 30, replacing Gary Knell, who resigned last month to become president and chief executive of the National Geographic Society. Knell had been in the job less than two years.

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The organization has appointed a search committee to find a permanent replacement for Knell.

Haaga has been on NPR’s board since 2011 and most recently served as its vice chairman and the chairman of its finance committee.

Haaga lives in both Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and has served as chairman of the board at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and as a trustee of the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino.

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