The Walt Disney Company is enacting a round of layoffs, with ABC News being affected by the cuts.
FiveThirtyEight, the political research, data, and analysis arm of ABC News originally founded by Nate Silver, is being shuttered. The outlet showcased election forecasting and political modeling and data. The elimination of the brand comes after Silver exited nearly two years ago. 15 employees with the outlet will be cut.
On social media, Silver shared his disappointment that the brand was ending.
“I just saw the news about 538. My heart goes out to the people there,” he wrote. “They were tremendously hard-working and produced a lot of extremely valuable data and insight for everyone who wants to understand politics better. They deserved much better.”
538’s current leader — ABC News Director of Data Analytics G Elliott Morris — shared that he was still working on the site last night, but joked that the timing was less than stellar.
“We added some new polls late this evening,” he wrote. “Trump’s job approval rating average at 538 is now net negative. What timing.”
In total, 6% of the staff at ABC News and Disney Entertainment Networks will be cut in the latest round of layoffs, Some of the cuts will begin as early as Wednesday.
In an email to staffers obtained by Barrett Media, ABC News President Almin Karahmehmedovic said the cuts will help the company streamline its operations.
“Rethinking the way we work to future-proof our team regrettably includes reductions to our extraordinary staff,” said Karahmehmedovic. “These decisions are incredibly challenging and today will undoubtedly be difficult for our organization. It bears repeating how profoundly grateful and proud I am to be leading a truly remarkable team that consistently delivers the best our profession has to offer. I’d especially like to acknowledge the outstanding contributions made by our departing colleagues, who have our respect, gratitude and empathy.”
He concluded by stating “I remain confident in our ability to continue to set the bar for journalistic excellence.”
Additionally, the company will move the production of Good Morning America under one roof as a cost-saving measure.
It remains to be seen what eliminations — if any — take place to on-air staffers.
This is the latest in a long line of layoffs for ABC News. In October, 75 employees saw their jobs eliminated between ABC News and local affiliate stations. That came after widespread cuts in 2023 that included Silver’s exit from FiveThirtyEight.
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