ABC News to Offer NABET Employees Buyouts

Staff reduction in technical positions a continuation of 25% newsroom cut

By Marisa Guthrie -- Broadcasting & Cable, 10/5/2010 12:08:48 PM

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 66^th 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.