Aug 31, 2017

Disney planning up to 300 layoffs from TV group​

Sara Fischer

Richard Drew / AP

Disney, the parent company for ABC, ESPN, Freeform and the Disney Channel will lay off up to 300 employees, WSJ reports. Most of the cuts are expected to come at ABC and local TV studios, and some at Disney and Freeform.

Why it matters: The company has continued to post losses due to declining ad revenues and increased programming costs, and is seeking to cut costs at the Disney/ABC Television Group by 10%.

Ben Sherwood, President of the Disney/ABC TV Group, is overseeing the cuts, WSJ reports, and will present a plan to Disney CEO Bob Iger in the coming weeks.

Our thought bubble: Revenue declines have often been blamed on ESPN, which already had major layoffs this year, but the network doesn't look to be affected by this round of cuts.

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Coronavirus dashboard

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  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 679,977 — Total deaths: 31,734 — Total recoveries: 145,625.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 124,686 — Total deaths: 2,191 — Total recoveries: 2,612.
  3. Federal government latest: Trump announces new travel advisories for New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, but rules out quarantine enforcement. Per CDC, those residents should "refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days," with the exception of critical infrastructure industry workers.
  4. State updates: Alaska issues a stay-at-home order — New York tries to nearly triple hospital capacity in less than a month and moved presidential primary to June 23. Some Midwestern swing voters who backed Trump's initial handling of the virus balk at call for U.S. to be "opened up" by Easter.
  5. World updates: In Spain, over 1,400 people were confirmed dead between Thursday to Saturday.
  6. 🚀 Space updates: OneWeb filed for bankruptcy amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
  7. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

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