NBC Cuts Jobs at Tonight Show – Jay Leno Takes Pay Cut to Minimize Job Losses

While NBC has not commented officially on the situation, the New York Times and other sources have reported that as many as 20 employees of the Tonight Show will be losing their jobs due to budget cuts. The cuts come despite the fact that the show, currently featuring host Jay Leno, still leads the late night competition by a substantial margin.

According to reports, the cuts are an attempt to get costs back to levels prior to the failed attempt to spin off a new show with Leno in a 10PM eastern time slot in 2009. While the move was a ratings failure and Leno returned to the Tonight Show at 11:30, the budgets remained inflated.

To help minimize the number of lay-offs at the Tonight Show, Jay Leno and others reportedly took pay cuts. Leno’s salary was last reported at $25 million per year, but there has been no word on how much of a pay cut he took to save jobs on the show.