Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen thousands of people let go from their jobs at Disney as it looks to cut costs as the world of entertainment continues to change as it adapts to a new streaming model without the cash flow of the traditional cable businesses.

Today, Variety revealed that Disney is laying off 75 more staff members from ABC News and its local ABC networks, which cover cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.

Almin Karamehmedovic, president of ABC News, sent out a memo to staff informing them of the cuts, which are set to be spread out between the national and local stations.

“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.

As we look to the future and refining a team that is not only capable of excellence in reporting and delivering the highest quality content but is also streamlined and sustainable, we must occasionally make some tough decisions, Unfortunately, today is one of those days.”

Chad Matthews, who is the president of ABC’s station group, also said in a memo to staff about the cuts:

“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. 

Local news is the lifeblood of every market, and we are fortunate to have so many talented teams across the country invested in the communities the way that you are.  Nothing is going to change our commitment to viewers as we evolve our organization to meet the challenges of today and in the future.”

ABC News is behind many hit news shows, including “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight”, which air on ABC, Disney+ and Hulu.   It’s not expected that any of the anchors of these shows are expected to be affected.  It also isn’t expected that any of the layoffs will affect any national or local programming.

Last month, Disney laid off a further 300 members of staff across its corporation, and earlier this week, it was revealed that ABC Signature Studios would be merging into 20th Television, resulting in the firing of over 30 people from the company. 

Roger’s Take: This no doubt sucks for those let go by Disney, but in reality, ABC News, like every other news network, is having to make cost-cutting measures as the way people consume news media changes.  The traditional cable network system is slowly falling away, and now, these divisions are being streamlined.  Disney is making changes to how it makes its new content available to people, such as recently offering content via YouTube and Disney+, in a way to reach people who don’t have cable.

What do you think of these job cuts?  Let me know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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