PBS Charlotte is losing $1.2 million following federal funding cuts and will “continue to operate in the near term,” as it assesses the long-term impacts, a spokesperson told The Charlotte Observer.

The company is among the first casualties of a vote to strip roughly $500 million in federal funding from NPR, PBS and local stations across the country.

Supporters of public broadcasting warn the cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting will force the closure of smaller rural stations across the country.