The Walt Disney Company is preparing to lay off approximately 200 employees—nearly 6% of the combined workforce at its ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks units.
A report first published by The Wall Street Journal made this announcement on Wednesday, signaling another wave of restructuring within the company as it navigates industry-wide shifts in consumer behavior and the declining influence of traditional cable television.
According to WSJ, several key divisions to be affected by this restructuring are: ABC’s long-running news magazine programs, 20/20 and Nightline, are set to merge into a single unit, while the company is also eliminating the team behind FiveThirtyEight, the political and data analysis website.
Additionally, the production staff at Good Morning America is expected to be affected. Within the Disney Entertainment Networks division, which oversees cable channels such as FX, reductions are anticipated in programming and scheduling operations.
At the moment, Disney has not publicly commented on the reported layoffs. The company’s stock showed little movement in premarket trading on Wednesday. According to The Wall Street Journal, the newsletter Status was the first to report the impending cuts at ABC News.
Despite the loss in subscribers, the streaming platform successfully reduced its streaming business losses by $300 million during the October-December period.
Despite these challenges, Disney’s most recent earnings report exceeded Wall Street expectations, driven in part by cost-cutting measures and strong performances in its theme park and experiences segment. However, the company has acknowledged that it anticipates a “modest decline” in Disney+ subscriptions for the second quarter.
The layoffs at Disney mark the latest chapter in an industry-wide shift that has seen major media companies rethink their business models.