KQED-FM to Close Downtown San Jose Office After Layoffs

KQED-FM is closing its satellite office at an 18-story tower in Downtown San Jose, where its monikers grace the top of the building.

The San Francisco-based public radio station will shutter its 4,000-square-foot office at 50 West San Fernando Street, the San Jose Mercury News reported. The closing date was not disclosed.

The move comes after budget reductions and nearly three dozen job cuts.

The KQED signs were hoisted atop the 356,200-square-foot building owned by the Jay Paul Company in 2016, replacing signs by the former media company, Knight Ridder.

“As part of a range of permanent budget cuts KQED is making to confront a growing shortfall, we are letting go of the lease on our small satellite office in downtown San Jose,” Peter Cavagnaro, a KQED spokesman, told the Mercury News.

It’s not clear how long is left on the KQED lease, which began in 2014.

KQED, one of the nation’s largest public media organizations, is reducing overall staffing throughout the organization by 34 positions. The cutbacks represent 8 percent of its workforce.

KQED’s space in the downtown San Jose 50 West building was roughly 4,000 square feet.

“Over the years, particularly coming out of the pandemic and since we reopened in our refurbished San Francisco headquarters in 2021, the (San Jose) office has become less used as staff has become more accustomed to hybrid/remote work and some of the upgraded capabilities of the San Francisco headquarters,” Cavagnaro said.

— Dana Bartholomew