Job Cuts Latest Blow at ABC News

ABC News, already reeling from a network decision to replace “20/20” for a time this fall with a drama series, is bracing for another blow: buyouts and layoffs.

About 85 people at the Walt Disney Co. unit learned last week they will be allowed to take a severance package and leave the network. An additional two dozen probably will be laid off and still more cuts will be reached through attrition, as the news division seeks to reduce its staff of 1,200 by roughly 125.

Those opting for the buyout received official notification their request had been approved last week, with the buyouts taking effect June 1. A handful of people who wanted to take the option were deemed too critical to release, and their buyout requests were denied.

The involuntary layoffs are expected to be made by July 1, employees say they have been told.

The cuts will hit hardest in certain key areas. Roughly 19 producers will leave ABC’s prime-time newsmagazines, including “20/20” and “PrimeTime Live.” Though ABC won’t need as many producers because of the forced “20/20” hiatus, the departures leave a big hole, insiders say.

In addition, a number of skilled tape editors, highly sought after and easily employable elsewhere, have opted to leave.

ABC News declined to comment on the cuts, which come on top of several months of tense budget-driven contract negotiations with on-air employees that have resulted in the departure of such veteran correspondents as Sheila MacVicar, Mort Dean and Sylvia Chase of “20/20.”

In addition, “20/20” anchor Barbara Walters wasn’t happy with the decision to temporarily pull the newsmagazine and discussed receiving other job offers earlier this week on her weekday chat show, “The View.” Within days, however, she revised those comments, referencing a December 2002 contract window that lets her change duties but not leave ABC News.

ABC News has been looking to reduce its budget of several hundred million dollars by $15 million to $20 million annually as part of across-the-board cuts at ABC and Disney. The division also is looking for savings and efficiencies as it plans additional budget cuts to be implemented over the next several years.

The cuts have taken their toll on morale, coming as they do on the heels of the entertainment division’s decision to move “20/20” out of the Friday time period it has successfully occupied since 1987. For two months, “20/20” will air Wednesdays and then go off the air, before eventually returning to Fridays.

ABC-TV President Alex Wallau said last week that the “20/20” move, meant to give the Disney-produced drama “Once and Again” a boost, was not a signal that ABC News was less important to the network. But the decision seemed shortsighted to many observers in the news division, particularly after CBS said it will move one of its newsmagazines, “48 Hours,” into the time period to capitalize on the absence of “20/20.”