TISCH SAYS NO MORE MAJOR LAYOFFS

CBS Chief Executive Laurence Tisch, who has been sharply criticized for 215 layoffs at CBS News and job cuts elsewhere in the company, said Thursday that no more major staff reductions are planned.

“Layoffs of the type we’ve been going through are over,” Tisch said. “That’s over.”

However, he said, “rolling (personnel) adjustments that take place in every other business in America will take place at CBS.” Such actions, he said, mean that jobs could be eliminated--or added--as needed.

He spoke during a surprise appearance with CBS Board Chairman William S. Paley at a news conference held at CBS here to unveil the second-place network’s new prime-time schedule for next fall. Each declared the new schedule exciting.

Their unusual joint appearance seemed aimed at bolstering the image of CBS, which was once known as the Tiffany of networks but which has suffered in the last two years because of company-wide layoffs, low morale and criticism from within and without the company.

Paley, whose network has been second to NBC in prime-time ratings for the last two seasons, avoided saying whether CBS will emerge victorious in the coming season. Most observers feel NBC will again win.

NBC “has done a great job,” CBS’ 84-year-old founder said, but next season “we hope to come as close as we possibly can . . . to beat ‘em out. But it’ll be a tough race.”

He dismissed as “nonsense” speculation that the jobs of CBS Broadcast Group President Gene F. Jankowski, CBS Entertainment President B. Donald (Bud) Grant or Grant’s top programmer, Kim LeMasters, would be in jeopardy if CBS failed to win the coming season. All three of those executives were also at the news conference.

Tisch said that CBS hopes that “we’re going to be right up there, nip and tuck, and maybe we’ll be ahead.” He said that he was delighted with what he had seen of the network’s fall program lineup.