\u201cEveryone says it was a score-settling and that it was badly handled,\u201d one source said, explaining that people who had been at the company for over two decades were told to leave without any explanation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSomebody called it the \u2018Red Wedding,’\u201d the source added, referring to a bloody massacre scene from HBO\u2019s hit show \u201cGame of Thrones.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Insiders say the decision was made by Godwin and confidants that included executive editor and senior vice president Stacia Philips Deshishku, executive vice president Derek Medina and Godwin\u2019s right hand Jose Andino, vice president of process management. Andino followed Godwin from CBS News, where she had worked since 2007 before becoming the first black woman to lead a network news division in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One insider said Godwin and her new leadership group have taken the \u201ckeys to the car\u201d and turned ABC News\u2019 culture of asking questions and being inquisitive into a \u201cculture of fear.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cABC News is an organization built on questioning but under Kim, there will be no questioning ever,\u201d a source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A source close to the matter denied that the layoffs were done in retribution over stories including the Holmes-Robach leaks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
ABC News declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among those fired were award-winning investigative journalist Chris Vlasto, newsgathering senior vice president Wendy Fisher, talent vice president Mary Noonan, talent and strategy senior vice president Galen Gordon, executive editorial producer Heather Riley, and communications vice president Alison Rudnick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ABC source said longtime employees would normally be offered buyouts or severance packages. However, in this case, no buyouts were offered and severance was only offered to a select few, sources with knowledge said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some have looked into suing ABC News, according to the Daily Beast<\/a>, which said Vlasto is reportedly being repped by legal eagle Bryan Freedman<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The layoffs were part of a wider shakeup ordered by parent company Disney CEO Bob Iger to slash 7,000 jobs across the company<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n With more cuts looming, ABC News staffers are worried now that they might be on Godwin\u2019s \u201cenemies list,\u201d insiders said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prior to the layoffs, there had been buzz that Godwin, who has had her fair share of missteps during her two-year tenure, would be pushed out of the high-powered role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe has made a ton of mistakes at the company\u2019s expense,\u201d a media source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most notably was her head-in-the-sand approach as the Holmes-Robach scandal burst into national headlines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Details of the affair spilled out in late November, <\/a>but Godwin permitted the \u201cGMA3\u201d pair to remain on the air, causing a spectacle which led to more news stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As more lurid tidbits came out, Godwin benched the duo and defended them on a Dec. 5 interoffice call, saying they \u201chad not violated company policy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n ABC launched an internal investigation soon after, as more juicy details were leaked to the tabloids about Holmes\u2019 other affairs at ABC. After a prolonged suspension, ABC settled with the pair to exit the company.<\/a> Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStanding up for TJ and Amy early on probably cost the company $1 million,\u201d a media exec speculated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe bottom line is Bob Iger is a professional and he wants to work with people who don\u2019t cause headaches. The story had legs because of the way she handled it,\u201d the exec added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Godwin recently told Vanity Fair that she\u2019s \u201cvery comfortable\u201d with cutting ties with Robach and Holmes after the scandal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe ended up where we needed to be,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sources told Page Six that coverage of the scandal<\/a> resulted in the company \u201claunching an internal investigation\u201d to find out who was dishing details to the press. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A source close to the matter said the investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe process was fair and there wasn\u2019t retaliation,\u201d the source said. \u201cKim is not that type of person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vanity Fair\u2019s profile of Godwin also claimed that \u201cstaffers were interviewed as part of a search for employees leaking information\u201d \u2014 after Puck published an article about Godwin\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI didn\u2019t call for it\u201d or \u201capprove it,\u201d she told VF<\/a>, adding \u201cconfidentiality is important in all organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2021, Godwin also found herself in hot water with her then-boss Peter Rice when she called for an independent probe into the groping allegations against former \u201cGood Morning America\u201d producer Michael Corn<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Since](\"https:\/\/dev.creativespikedigital.com\/lftc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/NYPICHPDPICT000009351792-1024x1024.webp\")
(Instagram\/@newsmom8)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Disney](\"https:\/\/dev.creativespikedigital.com\/lftc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/NYPICHPDPICT000002851649.webp\")
(Evan Agostini\/Invision\/AP<\/strong>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Godwin](\"https:\/\/dev.creativespikedigital.com\/lftc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/NYPICHPDPICT000009446573.webp\")
(REUTERS<\/strong>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n