In yet another shakeup in the local TV news space, a number of longtime anchors at stations in Los Angeles and Chicago have been laid off. The cuts come as the stations’ corporate parent, Nexstar Media Group, seeks to cut costs as it pursues a merger with rival Tegna.

Among those let go in Los Angeles are KTLA‘s longtime weatherman Mark Kriski, weathercaster Kacey Montoya, midday anchors Lu Parker and Glen Walker and reporter Ellina Abovian.

Kriski is an eight-time local Emmy winner and a fixture of the KTLA Morning Show, having covered weather-related news on everything from the recent Malibu fires to the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Montoya is also a multiple local Emmy winner who joined the station in 2013. She did the weather and other general interest segments on the KTLA Weekend Morning News.

Parker and Walker co-hosted the KTLA 5 News at 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. He is a multiple local Emmy winner who’s been with the station since 2010. She is a six-time local Emmy winner, a keynote speaker and former Miss USA.

Abovian was a general assignment reporter.

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SAG-AFTRA condemned the layoffs, which began yesterday at WGN-TV in Chicago, noting that positions impacted were SAG-AFTRA roles. The Chicago Tribune reported that eight veteran reporters and anchors were laid off Tuesday, and that Nexstar has been “eliminating a variety of positions for several months at WGN.

“By laying off journalists across the country, Nexstar is eroding the resources and talent that local communities rely on for trusted news. These actions highlight the risks of media consolidation and underscore the urgent need for regulators and the company to prioritize the public interest and the professionals who serve it,” said SAG-AFTRA President Sean Astin in the release.

The guild also noted the broader context of the cuts.

“These layoffs come as SAG-AFTRA is actively bargaining with Nexstar stations in multiple markets. At the table, Nexstar is pushing to gut severance pay and insert onerous provisions into the union contract that limit workers’ ability to freely negotiate the terms of their own employment,” The statement read. “These reductions in SAG-AFTRA talent also comes as Nexstar finalizes its multi-billion-dollar acquisition of Tegna. This consolidation makes the decision to cut local newsroom jobs particularly troubling.” 

Nexstar has 201 stations in 116 local markets across the country. It reaches 70% of U.S. households.

Tegna owns 64 television stations in 51 U.S. markets and reaches more than 100 million people monthly across the web, mobile apps, streaming and linear television. 

After the merger, which had been reported as being imminent in August 2025, the resulting company will have 265 stations in 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing 80% of U.S. TV households. That footprint far exceeds the longtime 39% limit on ownership of stations, which had been kept in place by both Republican and Democratic administrations over the past three decades.

Nexstar CEO Perry Sook has been one of the most vocal opponents of the 39% cap, calling it outdated in an era of Big Tech and diversified distribution and calling on the Trump Administration and the FCC to do away with the limit. 

Earlier this year, President Trump seemingly endorsed the deal, writing on Truth Social, “We need more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks. Letting Good Deals get done like Nexstar – Tegna will help knock out the Fake News because there will be more competition, and at a higher and more sophisticated level. Those that are opposed don’t fully understand how good the concept of this Deal is for them, but they will in the future. GET THAT DEAL DONE! PRESIDENT DJT”

A Nexstar spokesperson had the following comment about the layoffs when contacted by Deadline, “Nexstar does not comment on personnel issues, but the Company is taking steps necessary to compete effectively in this period of unprecedented change.”

Dade Hayes contributed to this report.