JAY LENO - LENO STAFFERS SACKED

LENO STAFFERS SACKED

The Hollywood writers' strike has cost non-writing staff on the Tonight with Jay Leno show their jobs.

Around 80 workers were laid off yesterday because of halt in production by broadcast network NBC.

A statement said the employer had "regretfully informed" workers on Leno's show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien "that their services are not needed at this time due to our inability to continue production of the shows".

Leno's ex-writers are deeply upset about the development because the television legend had reportedly promised no jobs would be lost when the strikes began on November 5th.

The situation is made worse by the fact that O'Brien is believed to have pledged to maintain his staffers' salaries for at least a week out of his own pocket.

The salaries of talk show workers from networks like ABC and Comedy Central are yet to be affected.

Negotiations between studio representatives and the Writers' Guild of America are due to resume again on Tuesday.