They can’t fire him - he’s “diverse” and politically on the same page as his bosses.
To fire his kind would not find favor in one specific group. An alternative would be to steal/hide his makeup making him embarrassed to go on air. Imagine Shep without eye makeup!
Shep Smith has always been the “balance” to Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity. O’Reilly is gone from Fox, and Hannity has been largely shuttled to the margins. So the “balance” has shifted to the left.
“Fair” was abandoned a while back.