ABC News told technical staff at ABC
News and ABC Daytime that buyouts will be offered for NABET studio and control
room employees. The cuts are a continuation of the 25% staff reduction at the
news division that began at the beginning of the year. It's unclear how many
positions the buyouts are targeted to eliminate as they are spread over the
news and daytime divisions, which encompasses The View and daytime soap operas.
More technical jobs have become
redundant as news programs, including local newscasts and some national
broadcasts transition to automated control rooms with robocams instead of directors,
for instance.
ABC News is installing an automated control
room at its 66th
Street studio. ABC flagship O&O WABC already has an automated control room.
The buyouts are expected to be complete
by the end of the year.
In February, ABC News announced a
"transformation" of the news division and the elimination of up to 400
employees. Many of those eliminations came through voluntary buyouts.
