Disney to Cut Up to 1,000 Jobs in Latest Cost-Cutting Move

Disney to Cut Up to 1,000 Jobs in Latest Cost-Cutting Move

Disney is planning to begin its next phase of cost cutting, which will include as many as 1,000 layoffs, according to a person familiar with the matter. The layoffs are expected to mostly affect Disney’s marketing department, which was recently consolidated under Asad Ayaz, who was named chief marketing and brand officer in January.

The cost-cutting initiative comes shortly after Josh D’Amaro took the helm as CEO in mid-March. D’Amaro, who previously was chairman of Disney Experiences, succeeded Bob Iger after a period of uncertainty for the media and theme park giant.

The changes to the marketing department structure occurred in January, when Bob Iger was still CEO of the company. Disney announced shortly after that D’Amaro would take over the top job — a long-awaited decision for the company.

Background on Disney’s Restructuring Efforts

Iger reclaimed the Disney CEO role in late 2022, about two years after his initial departure. He was immediately tasked with a turnaround of the business as its stock price had fallen and earnings began to miss expectations.

By February 2023, Disney had announced sweeping plans that reorganized the structure of the company, cut $5.5 billion in costs and eliminated 7,000 jobs from its workforce.

On D’Amaro’s first official day as CEO in March, he noted the work Iger had done to get the company past one of its most difficult periods. “When Bob returned to the company a few years ago, his goal was to fortify our business and lay the groundwork for long-term growth, by reigniting creativity and improving performance at our studios, building a robust and profitable streaming business, transforming ESPN for a digital future, and turbocharging our parks and experiences,” D’Amaro said on stage at the company’s investor day.

Industry-Wide Pressures

Disney is not the only entertainment giant to seek a workforce reduction in the face of uncertainty in the near-term economic future. Sony Pictures Entertainment confirmed that the studio plans to cut hundreds of positions.

The layoffs add to Hollywood’s ongoing workforce reductions, with many studios facing declining theatrical revenues, shrinking linear TV audiences, and smaller profits from their streaming services.

Disney’s theme parks division has served as its economic engine for years, but the company recently indicated it expects to see “headwinds” in international tourism to its U.S. parks.

The news of the planned Disney job cuts adds to the ongoing drumbeat Hollywood has endured for the last few years.

• Disney recently laid off thousands of workers in the years after former Chief Executive Bob Iger returned to the company.
• Iger said Disney had been pumping out too many shows and movies to compete with Netflix and needed to retrench.

As the media landscape continues to evolve, it remains to be seen how Disney’s latest cost-cutting move will impact its business and employees.