Disney starts laying off 7,000 employees – 03/27/2023 – Market

Walt Disney Co started on Monday (27) 7,000 layoffs announced earlier this year, seeking to control costs and create a more “streamlined” business, according to a letter that Chief Executive Bob Iger sent to employees and to which the Reuters had access.

Several key divisions of the company such as Disney Entertainment, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products and the corporate area will be affected, according to a source familiar with the matter. ESPN was unaffected by this week’s round of cuts, but is expected to be included in later rounds.

Iger said Disney will begin notifying the first group of employees affected by the workforce reductions within the next four days. A second, larger round of job cuts will follow in April, “with several thousand headcount reductions”. The final round will begin before the start of summer (in the Northern Hemisphere), the letter said.

The entertainment conglomerate announced in February that it will cut 7,000 jobs as part of an effort to save $5.5 billion (R$28.8 billion) in costs and make its streaming business profitable.

“The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly,” Iger wrote, noting that many “bring a lifelong passion for Disney” to their work.

Many expected the cuts to fall heavily on Disney’s Media and Entertainment Division, which was eliminated in a corporate restructuring. The unit has been leaderless since the departure of Kareem Daniel in November, shortly after Iger returned as chief executive.

“This has been around for a long time,” said Michael Nathanson, an analyst at SVB MoffettNathanson, adding that the company began “whispering” about the need to cut costs last fall, when Bob Chapek was still Disney’s chief executive.

Josh D’Amaro, president of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, sent a memo to theme park employees in February warning that the lucrative division would be cut.

Employees at two of the unions representing cast members at Walt Disney World Resorts in Orlando, Fla., said “guest-facing” services were unlikely to be affected by the layoffs.