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Walt Disney will lay off about 175 people at its ABC television unit beginning Wednesday, the result of an internal review discovering that many positions were unnecessary because of new technologies and redundancies as a result of acquisitions, insiders told The Hollywood Reporter.
The layoffs amount to about 2 percent of the unit, which employs 7,600. Insiders say the layoffs will largely hit the eight owned and operated TV stations housed in Disney’s ABC Television Group. The company has eight owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh Durham and Fresno.
Disney on Wednesday acknowledged the reorganization, though without offering specifics.
“As technological advances continue to alter the competitive landscape and viewer habits, it’s incumbent upon us to stay ahead of the curve. To that end, we’ve undergone a review of our organizational structures and processes, and have reimagined and realigned certain areas and functions to gain efficiencies for future growth,” the company said.
The job cuts at ABC come after Disney has made similar adjustments at its Lucasfilm acquisition, its film studio, interactive unit and ESPN, which, together, represent about 1,000 positions eliminated so far this year.
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