ABC News will reportedly be parting ways with 75 staffers. The outlet announced the cuts on Wednesday, amidst larger staff reductions its parent company, the Walt Disney Company, has been undertaking over the last few weeks.
The layoffs will affect staffers at ABC News and its eight-owned local stations, and will be spread evenly between the two units. According to Variety, these reductions are in addition to the 300 roles that Disney eliminated last week within its corporate and administrative units as it looks to manage its resources and costs more effectively.
ABC News has been reviewing its operational costs across its business as it looks to create sustainable, efficient and forward-looking teams.
In an internal memo to staffers, ABC News president Almin Karamehedovic said: “Across the various ranks of ABC News, a limited number of our colleagues are being impacted by staff reductions. As you know, this has been happening across the broader company and the industry at large in recent weeks and months.”
“For us, it means shaping a team that embraces the new media landscape and evolves along with it, which we must do to continue serving our viewers,” Karamehedovic added.
ABC Owned Televeison Stations president Chad Matthews also addressed staffers in a note, writing: “It’s no secret that our industry is undergoing a transformation unlike any other, and we’re seeing headlines every day about streamlining across every major media company. While we’re not immune to the pressures facing this business today, we have been—and will continue to be—strategic with decisions about our organization’s future.”
ABC News previously underwent layoffs in March 2023 as part of Disney’s $5.5 billion cost-cutting efforts.
The media sector is undergoing a radical business and operational shift due to shareholder demands, media consolidation, improved technologies, cord cutting, and an unstable advertising market, making layoffs a frequent occurrence in this sector. ABC News joins the ranks of CNN, NBCUniversal News Group, CBS News, and Scripps News in trimming down its staff this year.
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