Jodi Sta. Maria reacts to ABS-CBN’s recent layoffs: ‘Heartbreaking’ | Image: Instagram/@jodistamaria/Inquirer file photo

Actress Jodi Sta. Maria expressed her sadness over the news that ABS-CBN Corp. had let go of another batch of employees amid financial struggles due to declining ad revenues.

Sta. Maria reposted a news article about the Lopez family-led company’s difficult decision to lay off around 100 employees and wrote in her caption, “Heartbreaking,” adding a broken heart emoji.

Aside from the actress, broadcast journalist Lynda Jumilla-Abalos also extended her sympathies to the employees affected by the layoffs, writing on X (formerly Twitter), “Hugs to everyone affected [crying and broken heart emoji].”

Jumilla-Abalos also slammed those trying to “make a joke” out of the dismissal of employees.

“People are losing their jobs and facing a bleak Christmas, and some just want to be malignantly evil,” she stated.

On Wednesday, Oct. 16, the media group said in a statement that it “made the difficult decision” of retrenching about 3 percent of its workforce due to the financial loss it has suffered since the shutdown of its franchise in 2020.

In an interview with the Inquirer, ABS-CBN supervisors’ union president Raul De Asis said the management decision was painful but that it was necessary to “keep the business running.”

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Amid its franchise expiration, the company announced in 2020 that it would be laying off around 11,000 employees. It was reported that 4,552 staffers, including 2,674 regulars, have so far been affected by the move.

Despite the saddening losses, ABS-CBN noted that it made “significant progress” in its business amid the shift to all-digital, citing examples like the Dingdong Dantes-Marian Rivera-led movie “Rewind,” which went on to become the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time.

Other ABS-CBN movies that have made significant earnings in the box office recently are “Un/Happy for You” and “A Very Good Girl.” Meanwhile, its shows “Batang Quiapo” and “It’s Showtime” have also been generating good ratings for the network.

On Thursday, Oct. 17, the media giant also announced that it hit 50 million subscribers on YouTube to keep its lead as the most subscribed channel on the platform in Southeast Asia among media outlets.