CHANNEL 7 ISSUES PINK SLIPS TO ABOUT 40 OF ITS EMPLOYEES

KABC-TV Channel 7 issued pink slips to about 40 employees this week, station General Manager John Severino said Friday. He said most of the laid-off workers are in engineering and technical positions and will be leaving the station “throughout the month.”

Severino said the layoffs will not affect programming at the station and that no on-air personnel are being let go. He would not estimate total employment at the station, owned by ABC/CapCities Inc.

“We found that we can operate more efficiently with fewer people,” Severino said.

This week’s layoffs raises to about 90 the total number of staffers who have been pink-slipped since April, when as many as 50 employees were let go in an apparent budget-cutting drive following the station’s takeover by Capital Cities Communications Inc.

Friday’s announcement probably did not catch many staffers by surprise, however. Employees at the station predicted in April that as many as 100 staffers would be let go by year’s end. Although Severino would not estimate total employment at the station, employees estimated the work force at 350 before the spring layoffs.