ABC News is laying off dozens of employees, including some of its highest-ranking executives, as part of the Walt Disney Co.’s ongoing round of layoffs that will see 7,000 employees depart the company.
In all, ABC News is expected to lay off 50 individuals—including an executive producer close to Good Morning, America co-anchor and former Clinton administration official George Stephanopoulos—according to a Variety report.
Other executives getting pink-slipped include the head of ABC News’ investigative unit, the network’s Los Angeles bureau chief, and the network’s chief spokesperson.
“While these actions are never easy, they are a necessary step to ensure we’re on solid footing for the years ahead as we chart a sustainable, growth-oriented path forward for the entire organization,” ABC News President Kim Godwin (pictured) reportedly said in an internal memo.
Disney is laying off 7,000 employees across its numerous media properties as part of an effort to rebound from a disastrous 2022 that saw the company’s stock plunge 44 percent and its profitability take a surprising hit, resulting in the firing of CEO Bob Chapek.
ABC News has been caught up in a series of embarrassing journalism scandals in recent years.
During the Trump administration, the news network aired what turned out to be a false report claiming Donald Trump directed Michel Flynn to make contact with Russian officials during the 2016 presidential campaign. In reality, Trump made that order as President-elect, thus establishing international relations during his transition into the White House.
ABC News retracted the report and fired longtime correspondent Bob Ross.
The news network got egg on its face again in 2019 by airing a video it claimed to be of Turkish military forces attacking Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. It turned out the video was from a Kentucky gun range.
ABC News also produces The View, whose host Joy Behar has repeatedly spread falsehoods about conservatives, even likening them to Nazis and white supremacists.
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