Disney Layoffs Will Affect 75 Staffers at ABC News, Local Stations
variety.comBrian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Approximately 75 staffers in Disney‘s ABC News and local-station operations will be laid off, part of a series of moves across the large media conglomerate that aim to cut costs amid a difficult operating environment.
Employees were notified Wednesday of the staff reductions, according to a person familiar with the matter, and the number of jobs affected is believed to be split evenly between the national newsgathering arm and the local-media business.
Disney’s ABC owns eight stations in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and San Francisco. ABC News is responsible for flagship ABC programs including “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight.” Disney has been examining its staffing and operations and has cut employees in other parts of its portfolio in recent weeks.
In late September, the company eliminated about 300 jobs across different corporate departments. On Monday, the company combined some of its TV studios, merging teams previously assigned to develop scripted comedy or dram at ABC or Hulu. “Across the various ranks of ABC News, a limited number of our colleagues are being impacted by staff reductions.
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