The entertainment industry giant Disney has wielded the axe at its news division, eliminating approximately 200 positions across ABC News and Disney Entertainment Networks as traditional television continues to weather significant financial challenges.
The workforce reduction, representing nearly 6% of the division’s total employees, will dramatically reshape several flagship programs, according to The Hollywood Reporter. ABC News faces particularly severe cuts, with the data journalism platform 538 shutting down completely while established programs Nightline and 20/20 will merge their production teams.
The network’s morning flagship show, Good Morning America, will consolidate all three hours under a single executive producer, Simone Swink, as the company simultaneously combines its digital and social media operations.
Disney’s broader entertainment networks, including popular channels FX and Freeform, will experience staff reductions primarily in programming and scheduling departments, as initially reported by The Wall Street Journal. These latest reductions follow previous workforce cuts at ABC News last fall when approximately 75 positions were eliminated shortly after Almin Karamehmedovic assumed the presidency of the news division in August.
The turmoil at ABC appears to be creating opportunities for rival network CBS, according to Page Six. Industry veterans vacating Disney-owned properties are finding new homes at CBS News, with former ABC executives Matthew Mosk and Wendy Fisher securing leadership positions following their departures. Most notably, longtime ABC News veteran Tom Cibrowski was recently appointed president and executive editor of CBS News.
Sources told Page Six that this talent acquisition strategy reflects a deliberate approach by Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News and Television Stations. McMahon, a former ABC executive who previously led ABC’s Owned Television Stations division before joining CBS in 2021, reportedly aims to replicate past programming successes. Cibrowski’s hiring carries particular significance given his role as executive producer when Good Morning America overtook NBC’s Today Show for ratings supremacy in 2012.
Meanwhile, ABC News president Karamehmedovic addressed the workforce reductions in an internal memo to staff, acknowledging “reductions to our extraordinary staff” while describing Wednesday as “undoubtedly difficult for our organization.” His message expressed gratitude toward departing employees while attempting to maintain morale among remaining personnel.
Despite efforts to downplay the significance of these cuts, with one ABC executive emphasizing that the reductions represent less than 6% of the total workforce across both divisions, sources indicate additional layoffs may materialize before summer. The latest round of reductions follows Disney’s company-wide structure-driven job cuts announced last September, highlighting the continuing challenges traditional media organizations face in adapting to changing viewer habits and intensifying competition from digital platforms.
The Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed Wednesday it is planning to cut more than 70,000 staff positions later this year. According to a video message from VA Secretary Doug Collins, officials aim to reduce the department to roughly 400,000 employees. The VA has already eliminated more than 2,000 jobs this year as part of the Trump administration's broader plan to shrink the federal workforce. More than a quarter of the VA's staff are military veterans.
Tariffs on autos supposedly paused until April 2. But no documents are out yet to clarify what got paused. Finished autos? Parts? All parts? From all firms? Without careful drafting, even the “pause” could create more confusion. Then, of course, we have the unknown rationale for the duration of this pause. Why a month? What is supposed to happen in this month? Are firms expected to build and staff plants in new locations in less than 30 days? Will this “pause” get paused again? The April 2 deadline, to me, is ominous. That is Trump’s Reciprocal Tariff Day when he wants to levy much higher tariffs against everyone using his magic formula. Autos (and everything else) could be facing much higher tariffs then. Or not.
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol has a direct mandate for corporate employees: Step it up. In a video of an internal company forum, viewed by The Wall Street Journal, Niccol emphasized that the coffee chain's turnaround was contingent on greater accountability among its corporate leaders. It was the first address from Niccol since announcing a C-suite shuffle Tuesday and widespread layoffs of 1,100 corporate workers last month. “We own whether or not this place grows,” he said.
The bottom line for the February ADP National Employment Report is that while it would be unwise to overreact to a single month’s number, the increase of 77,000 was only about half of what was expected by the consensus forecast. The anticipated rebound after the bitter cold in January was evident in manufacturing and construction, but other industries sharply reduced hiring or cut payrolls. Businesses face a bewildering array of unknowns in tax and regulatory policies that affect their staffing decisions. As a result, adding workers will wait until it is clearer that these are needed.
The ADP report isn't necessarily predictive of the change in private payrolls in the BLS's monthly Employment Situation and isn't intended to. Nonetheless, the downside surprise in the ADP numbers could lead to some forecasters revising their estimates for the government report.
The FOMC meets in about two weeks on March 18-19. While the slowdown in hiring is evident what isn’t as yet is whether businesses are actively laying off workers. As long as the unemployment rate does not start rising at a disturbing pace, Fed policymakers will continue to view the maximum employment side of the dual mandate as relatively stable for the moment. This will allow them to continue to focus on the recent uptick in inflation and leave the fed funds rate on hold at its present 4.25-4.50 percent.
ADP Pay Insights points to ongoing moderation in pay increases for those who change jobs. The February median year-over-year gains were up 6.7 percent after 6.8 percent in January. The median annual increase for job-stayers was 4.7 percent in February and has been essentially unchanged at that rate for six months. Businesses continue to have to adjust pay to attract and retain skilled workers, but churn in the labor market is easing. adpnationalemploymentreport adppayinsights