he had about 60 at the end and a few dropped him in the past couple days
That is why he was expendable. If his ratings were better, he would still be on the air. This way, CBS and MSNBC get look good and introduce new talent at the same time.
Incidently, I listened to the first half hour of his Thursday morning show, and the first thing I heard was Imus lighting into MSNBC and CBS about "abject hypocrisy", which ironically was a soundbyte FOX News used after the hammer fell on Imus.