Three of Los Angeles’ longest-serving TV anchors were abruptly laid off Wednesday as corporate owner Nexstar slashed jobs at KTLA.
The cuts included longtime weekday morning meteorologist Mark Kriski and veteran midday anchors Glen Walker and Lu Parker, along with weathercaster Kacey Montoya and reporter Ellina Abovian, according to NewscastStudio.
The layoffs are part of a broader restructuring at Nexstar Media Group stations in Los Angeles and New York.
In New York, Nexstar also moved to cut staff at its station WPIX-TV, where newsroom layoffs were reported alongside the reductions in Los Angeles, according to NewscastStudio.
“Nexstar does not comment on personnel issues, but the Company is taking steps necessary to compete effectively in this period of unprecedented change,” a company rep told The California Post in a statement on Wednesday.
The outlet said the New York cuts were part of the same round of cost-trimming that hit KTLA, though the exact number of positions eliminated was not immediately clear.
Kriski was a longtime weekday morning meteorologist at KTLA and a staple of the station’s early broadcast.
Walker served as a veteran midday anchor at KTLA, helping lead what grew into a three-hour late-morning news block from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., as well as an additional afternoon hour.
“The midday shows that I did — it started as a one o’clock news,” Walker told The California Post.
“It was successful, so we added another show and then added another show. It ended up being a three hour news block from eleven to two o’clock right after the morning show, and then from three to four.”
“The shows all had good numbers, especially the ones at eleven, twelve, and one. And especially during breaking news,” he added.
Walker said he learned of the layoffs on Monday, telling The California Post: “Did I see it coming? I would say no.”
Despite the setback, Walker struck an optimistic tone about his next chapter.
“I had a great run at KTLA and I intend to have another run somewhere else. And stay tuned,” he said.
He added that while the station offered him a send-off, he declined.
“I am officially still under contract for sixty days,” Walker said. “They offered one and I declined.”
Parker also served as a veteran midday anchor and was among the prominent on-air figures named in the cuts.
Montoya worked as a weathercaster at the station, while Abovian served as a reporter covering local news in Los Angeles.
Walker reflected on the station’s legacy, calling KTLA “a unique television station as the first television station west of the Mississippi” that “had a lot of great history.”
“It’ll be interesting to see what happens moving forward,” he said.
On social media, reaction was mixed. One X user wrote: “Mark Kriski was great. What a shame.”
“Not Mark Kriski – LA icon for weather,” another X user wrote.
A disappointed Angeleno vowed to shun the station, writing on X: “I won’t be watching @KTLA anymore. I hope Mark Kriski, Glen Walker, and Lu Parker find a better station.”
Some viewers framed the layoffs as a consequence of what they see as the station’s political shift. “I grew up with @KTLA but they lost me years ago going woke. That’s too bad,” one user wrote. “It’s garbage now.”
Another commenter was more blunt, writing: “Ktla is a biased woke newscast that willingly promotes the democrats.”
Others echoed that sentiment, with one post reading: “Channel 5 is left wing propaganda and now it will be worse without any of the sane people that were left,” while another added, “Be neutral and you get more ratings.”
The Post has sought comment from Kriski, Montoya, Abovian and Parker.
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