CNN’s new boss, Chris Licht, announced this week that the struggling news network will soon undergo additional layoffs as he works to cut upwards of $100 million from the network’s budget. On Wednesday, during a heated town hall between the 51-year-old CEO and his staff, the surprising new development occurred.

When Alisyn Camerota, the moderator of the town hall, asked Licht who would be fired, Licht did not provide any specifics. However, he did say that people who are not a part of CNN’s “core mission” are likely to be fired. Licht also disclosed that the following round of layoffs is anticipated to begin in early December. According to the New York Post, a CNN insider commented on Licht’s announcement on Wednesday, “There are huge nerves about that.”

Licht quickly responded, “I own the vision for this place.”I did not accept this position to dictate to anyone.

Licht’s announcement on Wednesday came just a few weeks after the new chairman of CNN issued a memo informing employees of upcoming “changes” to the network’s “people, budgets, and projects.” According to other reports, Zaslav ordered Licht to cut $100 million from CNN’s budget, which led to the upcoming round of layoffs. Additionally, Zaslav plans to lay off upwards of 1,000 of his 40,000 employees at Warner Bros Discovery by the end of the year. Licht’s announcement on Wednesday and his memo from October were markedly different from his June statement that CNN was experiencing “no layoffs.” – Steve Sijenyi