KDKA Radio Morning Show host Kevin Battle let go by Audacy as part of layoffs

Kevin Battle, co-host of the popular “KDKA Radio Morning Show,” has been let go by the station’s parent company Audacy, Inc. in an apparent cost cutting move.

Battle joined the 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. show as a co-host with Larry Richert in March 2020.

Also let go by the company was WDSY-FM (Y-108) “Y’d Awake” morning show co-host Kristen Buccigrossi. She had been on the morning show since 2018. Before that she worked in the company’s promotions department for 10 years.

Each of their final appearances on their respective shows happened on Tuesday.

“It came as a complete shock to me,” Battle said. “Everything seemed to be firing on all cylinders with the show. Larry and I get along great. The show was over on Tuesday and the boss said ‘Hey, I need to talk to you’ and that’s how it went down.”

Battle said he was not given a reason for his termination other than it came down to economics.

“There are cutbacks happening in some industries and unfortunately it happened for me in radio,” Battle said. “If you’re in the business long enough, they pull your ticket every once in a while — and it doesn’t matter about your job performance. You can be the best employee on the planet. But when it’s time to cut numbers, they cut numbers.”

Audacy released a statement saying the company has been on a “transformational journey … like so many other companies, we have been proactively taking actions to mitigate against the impact of any downturn. These include evaluating budgets, reducing expenses, and also reducing our workforce.”

Buccigrossi said she was informed she would be taken off the air immediately after Tuesday morning’s show. Her on-air stint dated back to when “Stoney” Richards hosted the show before departing last December.

A new Y-108 morning show host known as Cadillac Jack was hired last month.

While indicating that she had a good working relationship with the new host, Buccigrossi said if Richards had stayed on the show, she might still have a job.

“I felt like the world was a little safer when he was there, to be honest,” she said. “This was like a punch to the gut. After the past two-and-a-half years with covid, all the work and effort I put into it, just feels like it went to waste. It honestly just hurts more than anything, just to feel like 14 years of being with the company is just down the drain.”

For his part, Battle, said he appreciates the opportunity Audacy gave him to come back home and be on the air after working in several other cities.

“It was great to be able to come home and spend some time with family and friends and be around my parents and brother again,” Battle said. “Unfortunately, it was a short amount of time but I’m really, really grateful that they were able to bring me home.”

Battle said he would like to stay in the Pittsburgh area regardless of whether or not he works in radio.

“The listeners have been great. They’ve given me all kinds of encouragement. Everybody’s been very gracious,” he said. “I’ve spoken to a few people in the (radio) industry and outside the industry. I’m just going to take it as it comes.”