The Walt Disney Co. is cutting nearly 200 jobs across its ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks unit, representing less than 6 percent of the combined workforce, The Epoch Times has learned.
The majority of the layoffs are hitting ABC News, with most affected employees based in New York, a person familiar with the decision who was not authorized to speak publicly told The Epoch Times.
In additiona, Disney is winding down FiveThirtyEight (538), the data-driven news brand known for its political analysis. However, the company will continue offering polling and political data analysis through ABC News.
Staff members affected by the cuts were being notified on Wednesday, with the source indicating that efforts were made to minimize the number of reductions. The moves are part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at boosting efficiencies and realigning resources.
Disney has been shuffling leadership and consolidating operations at ABC News in recent months.
As announced last fall during a town hall, all of ABC News’s longform units—including ABC News Studios, 20/20, Nightline, and Impact x Nightline—have been consolidated under a single leadership structure. Also, digital and social media teams are being integrated with news gathering and individual shows to create a more streamlined operation.
Neither Disney nor ABC News have publicly commented on the job cuts, which come amid a broader wave of staffing reductions across the media industry.
CEO Mark Thompson said in a Jan. 23 memo to staff that the job cuts would eventually be offset by new hires focused on CNN’s digital strategy, which includes subscription-based products and streaming news offerings.
Elsewhere in the industry, Forbes cut 5 percent of its staff in late January, while Vox faced its third round of layoffs in just two months. Also, The Washington Post and HuffPost reduced their workforce in January, adding to the industry-wide turbulence.
