The bloodshed at the Walt Disney Company isn’t over yet, with CEO Bob Iger wielding the ax across multiple TV properties.
Disney is slashing 140 jobs across its entertainment TV division, with National Geographic and Freeform among those confirmed as reducing headcount, according to multiple reports. NatGeo, which produced the Fauci documentary, is expected to be hardest hit, with the network losing 60 individuals, or about 13 percent of its staff, according to a Deadline report.
The mood is also grim at ABC News and its Good Morning America show, with layoffs expected in the days ahead, the New York Post reported.
Disney executives have demanded that Good Morning America — which features Bill and Hillary Clinton operative George Stephanopoulos as a co-host — reduce its bottom line by $19 million, up from previous projections of $17 million, before the end of Disney’s fiscal year on September 30, an unnamed source told the newspaper.
But rest assured, the generously compensated George Stephanopoulos is reportedly safe, as are his co-hosts Robin Roberts and Michael Strahan. Their support staff, less so.
A former ABC News source told the Post that the hosts are estimated to make between $17 million and $18 million each.
ABC News has spread numerous hoaxes over the years, especially concerning then-President Donald Trump.
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.
NatGeo broadcast the Fauci documentary in 2021.
The latest round of Disney layoffs comes after Bob Iger eliminated a record 7000 jobs worldwide last year in an effort to restore the company’s financial footing.
Earlier this year, ABC News president Kim Godwin abruptly stepped down out after three turbulent years with the news network.
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