Why Disney Is Downsizing
By Movieguide® Contributor
Disney is downsizing. The media giant has decided to close down its ABC Signature as of Oct. 1.
MSN reported, “ABC Signature (formerly ABC Studios) was shuttered Oct. 1. The reorganization, which also includes a merging of scripted development teams at ABC and Hulu, resulted in about 30 layoffs and renders 20th Television as Disney Television Studios’ primary provider for both its own outlets and outside buyers. ‘These are exceedingly difficult decisions made with the utmost thought,’ Disney TV studios and business operations president Eric Schrier wrote in a memo.”
Sadly, this comes with the loss of some people’s jobs.
Variety shared, “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.”
These aren’t the only layoffs Disney has initiated. In September, the company laid off over 300 employees across different departments.
President of ABC News Almin Karamehmedovic told the employees, “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.”
“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,” added Chad Matthews, President of ABC’s station group. “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.”
Despite the closure, there is no need to worry about your favorite ABC Signature shows. They will now be under the 20th Television banner.
Movieguide® previously reported on downsizing efforts that hit TikTok earlier this year:
TikTok is planning to make a huge number of layoffs in its operations and marketing teams.
Per CNN, “The global layoffs are expected to hit teams that handle user support and communications, as well as content and marketing. TikTok’s current global user operations team will be dismantled as part of the move, and remaining employees will be distributed among the company’s trust and safety, marketing, content and product teams.”
There is no specified amount of the total number of layoffs, “but the employees said the layoff will affect a large percentage of the roughly 1,000 people working,” The Information first reported.
This comes as a shock because at the start of 2024, TikTok “already cut dozens of employees at the start of the year, but is understood to ‘rarely’ carry out large-scale layoffs that have become more common at other tech companies,” per the Daily Mail.
- Content: +3Share:
- Content: +1