Afternoon host Tom Bauerle has exited Audacy News/Talk 930 WBEN Buffalo NY after 24 years with the station.

Bauerle joined WBEN in 2002 following a long run at sister 550 WGR as it evolved from music to News/Talk and finally Sports. During his tenure with WBEN he spent time in multiple dayparts and most recently was heard from 3-6pm. His 45 year radio career also included brief stops in St. Louis and Tampa.

The Buffalo News reports that Bauerle was let go one week ahead of his contract expiring after returning from a station sponsored trip to Italy with listeners. His wife told the newspaper that he was told in May that he would be offered a new contract in July but it never came. He had been asking for a five year deal without a raise.

Bauerle posted on Facebook, “Thank you for a great 42 years combined at those two Buffalo stations. Your support and support of sponsors has been like a great dream. This was the life I chose, and no matter how loyal ANYONE is to ANY employer, EVERY ONE gets popped eventually. MY SITUATION IS NO DIFFERENT THAN OR MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYONE ELSE’S! Nothing ever happened to me that didn’t work out for the better, and every day I spend with my wife Richelle Derrah Bauerle I am reminded of that. Yes I was FIRED, one day after returning from a sold out Italy trip with fans. My original ego-saving defense mechanism wanted this to be a ‘retirement’ spin, and after a 45 year career I was in temporary denial. Richelle properly knocked sense into me and said, ‘Tom, why bullshit your listeners? That makes YOU like Soros fake news! That isn’t who you are and you know it!’ I apologize for my 6 hour moral lapse, and Friday conversations with certain others knocked sense back into me. I love you all. I have had and continue to have a great life and am filled with gratitude to you. I will be a competitor.”