Howard Stern host let go after 16 years amid mass layoffs
Howard Stern Show host and senior producer Rashaan Rogers says he is out after 16 years, joining a wave of SiriusXM layoffs as the program scales back to one weekly episode. In a LinkedIn post, Rogers thanked colleagues and closed with "What a ride" while signaling he is seeking new work.
Key Takeaways
- Rashaan Rogers confirmed on LinkedIn that his 16-year run with The Howard Stern Show and Howard Stern Channels has ended.
- Around a dozen SiriusXM staffers were laid off in mid-July after a Zoom briefing, according to Page Six and The Daily Beast.
- On-air names affected include Benjy Bronk, Jon Blitt, Memet Walker, and Mike Trainor, alongside Rogers.
- Howard Stern, 72, plans to air one new show per week after his summer break, keeping a leaner core team.
- Stern extended his SiriusXM contract for three years in December 2025, citing more free time and flexibility.
The exit lands as one of the clearest public confirmations yet from the latest Howard Stern staffing purge. Rogers framed the moment as gratitude, not grievance, while openly looking for his next role.
For readers tracking career pivots and income resilience after sudden job cuts, BlasterPost's Wealth Hacks & Passive Income hub covers how professionals rebuild after long tenures end overnight.
Who got let go from The Howard Stern Show?
According to a Yahoo Entertainment report first published by Globe, Rogers posted on LinkedIn that he is "opening a new chapter" after 16 years with The Howard Stern Show and the Howard Stern Channels.
He listed career highlights that made him a familiar voice to Stern Channel listeners: hosting The Howard Stern Wrap-Up Show, serving as solo host of Sternthology Live, hosting multiple seasons of Summer School, and producing specials drawn from more than 40 years of Stern Show archives.
"I got to interview people I grew up admiring, direct live broadcasts in real time, and mentor some seriously talented producers along the way," Rogers wrote. He added that working inside "the most successful franchise in talk radio" taught him how great shows get made: preparation, instinct, and knowing what audiences want before they do.
Rogers said he is looking for work and closed with a line now echoing across coverage of the cuts: "To everyone I worked with over these 16 years: thank you. What a ride."
He is not the only high-profile departure. The Daily Beast reported that the layoffs also hit on-air personalities Benjy Bronk, Jon Blitt, Memet Walker, and Mike Trainor. Bronk had been with Stern's team for more than 25 years. Trainor marked a 12-year run. Page Six said Blitt had worked on the show for nearly a decade.
Why is Howard Stern cutting staff and episodes now?
Page Six exclusively confirmed earlier this month that the SiriusXM program laid off around a dozen staffers. Sources told the outlet that employees got the news over Zoom, were sent home immediately after the call, and will receive severance packages tied to how long they had been with the network.
The Daily Beast similarly reported that about a dozen workers were cut on July 14, after being briefed the day prior. Globe's Yahoo write-up placed related dismissals around Monday, July 13, and said staffers were told Howard Stern would do just one show a week when he returns from summer break.
A source cited in that Yahoo report said the 72-year-old broadcaster "just doesn't need that much content anymore," and is keeping a core team of longtime producers. That production reset is why the cuts matter: fewer live hours leave less room for the writers, producers, and channel hosts who once filled the week.
The timing also follows Stern's December 2025 contract extension with SiriusXM for another three years. At the time, Stern said he had "figured out a way to have it all," pairing "more free time" with continued radio work. He later stressed that he still loves being on the air and believes the show is "better than ever."
Stern has been on the radio for five decades, according to The Daily Beast, with his SiriusXM era dating to 2006. Page Six noted he first inked with Sirius Satellite Radio in 2004 on a deal reported at $500 million over five years, and has been on the radio since 1977.
How are fired Howard Stern staffers responding publicly?
Several former colleagues have broken their silence with a mix of sincerity and comedy. Mike Trainor posted on X that his run ended after "12 amazing years (an eternity!)," calling himself "incredibly grateful to Howard and the whole gang for the ride" and saying he is "excited for what's next." He invited people working on something cool to hit him up, then later joked that "things are looking up" beside a photo of a Pringles container.
Jon Blitt took a more theatrical route. In an Instagram clip tagged #newbeginning, he claimed it was his first day at Old Navy, joking that the first lesson was "ABF, 'Always Be Folding'" — a play on Alec Baldwin's "Always Be Closing" line from Glengarry Glen Ross. He folded jeans on camera, said he was unsure whether he was allowed to do so, and ended by asking a customer if he could help.
Fans answered warmly, with comments calling Blitt funny and saying they already missed him. Blitt confirmed in the comments that the Old Navy "job" was a joke.
Rogers' LinkedIn note sits at the more formal end of that spectrum: a résumé-ready farewell that doubles as a job search signal after 16 years inside one of talk radio's biggest brands.
What does the shakeup mean for Stern fans and staff careers?
For listeners, the near-term change is structural. Sources say Stern intends to release a single new episode each week after summer, a sharp reduction from the fuller schedule that long defined the franchise. A smaller remaining staff is expected to support that leaner live footprint.
For the people who built that machine, the story is familiar beyond celebrity radio: a contract that promised flexibility for the star can still mean abrupt exits for the bench. Severance based on tenure softens the landing for some, but public posts from Rogers, Trainor, and Blitt show how quickly a long run can turn into networking, jokes, and open applications.
None of the sourced reports claim Stern is leaving SiriusXM. The opposite is true: he re-upped through a three-year extension announced in December 2025. What changed is the volume of fresh content and the size of the team required to produce it.
That is why Rogers' "What a ride" line resonates. It closes a 16-year chapter hosting Wrap-Up Show segments, Sternthology Live, Summer School, and archive specials — and it marks how the Howard Stern machine is being rebuilt around fewer live hours and a tighter inner circle.