FiveThirtyEight Founder Nate Silver Is Leaving ABC News
The latest round of Disney layoffs has hit ABC News, with the FiveThirtyEight brand being among those the hardest hit.
In a Slack message to FiveThirtyEight employees, founder Nate Silver told his team that he expects to leave the company at the conclusion of his contract, which he adds “is soon.”
Photo: Variety
FiveThirtyEight’s Long History
Silver originally founded FiveThirtyEight in 2008, before moving the service to The New York Times. Eventually, he sold the site to Disney’s ESPN, prior to its relocation to ABC News.
In his Slack message, Silver took up a somber tone.
Photo: 538
“Unfortunately the day we’ve been worried about has arrived. We don’t yet know the scope of these layoffs, exactly who is impacted, or the terms under which they are departing. But it is going to be a hard day for all of us,” he added.
Photo: Also Hollywood Reporter
This will be the first time that Silver will not be involved in FiveThirtyEight since its launch.
ABC News Responds
For their part, ABC News expects to keep the FiveThirtyEight brand name. They are also promising to streamline the site to make it more efficient.
“ABC News remains dedicated to data journalism with a core focus on politics, the economy, and enterprise reporting. This streamlined structure will allow us to be more closely aligned with our priorities for the 2024 election and beyond,” an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement. “We are grateful for the invaluable contributions of the team members who will be departing the organization and know they will continue to make an important impact on the future of journalism.”
The Second Wave Of Layoffs Arrive
The Walt Disney Company is in the midst of its second wave of company-wide layoffs, with 4,000 jobs expected to be eliminated by the end of the week.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla also Getty Images
In total, Disney expects to shed nearly 7,000 jobs by the summer.
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