Some Weather Channel employees laid off

ATLANTA, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- The Weather Channel says it has been forced to lay off some employees because of the stormy state of the U.S. economy.

WSBTV, Atlanta said officials at the cable network, based in Georgia, declined to say how many people were affected by Wednesday's firings. Also unknown is whether any on-air personalities are now unemployed.

"The economic realities of recent months have created challenges for everyone in our business," company officials said in a statement issued to WSBTV. "In addition, when NBC Universal purchased the Weather Channel earlier this year, we expected that there would be cost synergies as part of company reorganization."

The statement said it is "always difficult to lose valued employees," but Weather Channel officials said they were "doing our best to minimize the impact." The statement said the Weather Channel remains "committed to providing the highest quality content" for its viewers.