The Walt Disney Company is going through a round of layoffs Wednesday, impacting just under 200 employees, or almost 6% of the workforce in the ABC News Group and the company’s entertainment networks.The majority of the impacts will be at ABC News, which has most of its workforce based in New York, according to sources familiar with the plans.As part of the organizational changes, the news division’s longform units are being placed under one leadership structure including ABC News Studios, 20/20, Nightline and Impact x Nightline. Simone Swink will oversee all Good Morning America branded shows, a change as GMA and GMA3 had previously operated separately, with Cat McKenzie as EP of the spinoff show. The network last week named Seni Tienabeso to a new role as vice president of ABC News Live and some of the specialized units of the news division.Digital and social media operations also will be integrated with news gathering, shows and owned stations.The network also is ending 538, its data analytics site. Its founder, Nate Silver, was part of the job reductions in 2023, but the site was repurposed with G. Elliott Morris as director of data analytics. The network will continue to provide polling data, but it will no longer be part of the separate 538 unit.Morris wrote on X, “538’s data collection was game-changing, and I hope it gets a rebirth. Would need a modest budget for 2-3 researchers and 1-2 engineers. AI has also made things easier (at least I suspect — we were forbidden from using it).” He wrote that the entire staff was laid off, and that he was not sure what he would do next.“Many thanks to everyone who has supported 538 through thick and thin, and to all who made it special over its nearly 20-yr run,” he wrote.The total layoffs are the latest to hit traditional media, which has grappled with a decline in ad spending and shifts in viewer habits.The Status newsletter was first to report the layoff plans.
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