Howard Stern has laid off around a dozen staffers from his Sirius XM show, according to a new report from Page Six.
According to the outlet, staff received the news over Zoom on Monday, July 14.
During the call, they were told that Stern, 72, plans to cut back The Howard Stern Show to a single show per week after the Labor Day holiday, upon returning from his summer break. As for the remaining airtime, the show, which currently airs three days a week, is expected to fill it with content from Stern’s extensive archive.
Per Page Six, Stern has kept a core team of veteran producers on but was forced to lay off the additional staffers because “he just doesn’t need that much content anymore.”
According to the outlet, the staffers were sent home immediately after the call, and will receive severance packages in accordance with their time with the network.
The news comes as the shock jock pioneer, who has been on the air for nearly five decades, signed a new contract in December of last year that re-ups his obligation to the network for another three years.
It’s unclear how much the deal was for, but his last five-year contract with the network in 2020 reportedly made Stern a whopping $500 million, per Deadline.
The contract talks were spurred in large part by Stern’s announcement last year that he was not returning to the airwaves after his usual holiday break, with the Daily Mail citing “frustration” over contract negotiations at the time.
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The December contract, however, seems to have been to his liking, with the radio host saying on his December 16 show, “I’m happy to announce that I have figured out a way to have it all.”
“More free time and continuing to be on the radio,” he added, saying his new contract will give him more “flexibility.”
“I do like my days off. You know me, I’m never bored,” Stern, who has been interviewing A-listers on Sirius XM since 2006, continued. “I’m busy every minute.”
Speaking about the deal to Bravo exec Andy Cohen on his Sirius XM radio show, Stern’s wife, Beth, said, “his new schedule is working out really well for him.”
“I feel that it’s very good for him to continue. He still enjoys doing it. He’s still, I think, very good at it. I think it keeps him connected,” Beth, 53, said, adding that it gives her husband an “outlet” to share his thoughts.
The layoffs also come amid an April 2026 lawsuit filed against Stern and Beth by their former executive assistant, Leslie Kuhn, who claims she endured a “hostile work environment,” unorganized household management, and problematic business practices related to Beth’s feline rescue.
In response to the lawsuit, attorneys for the Sterns denied the allegations later that month, telling Entertainment Weekly: “We are not going to play this out in public. The Sterns are entitled to enforce nondisclosure agreements signed by employees who enter their home and their private life, and they have filed a motion to address the lawsuit and the conduct of Ms. Kuhn and her lawyer.”
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