As part of a plan to save $5.5 billion, Disney is laying off thousands of employees this week, according to multiple reports.
During an earnings call in February, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced plans to reduce the company’s workforce by 7,000 jobs in order to secure the cost savings.
“While this is necessary to address the challenges we’re facing today, I do not make this decision lightly,” he said. “I have enormous respect and appreciation for the talent and dedication of our employees worldwide, and I’m mindful of the personal impact of these changes.”
According to CNN Business, several thousand employees will be let go in layoffs this week. It said this will be the largest wave of the Disney layoffs.
Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight expects that he is one of the cuts, he said in a Tuesday tweet.
While ABC News is expected to keep the FiveThirtyEight brand name, The Hollywood Reporter said there are plans to streamline the site.
“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, per The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”
CNN Business said the latest round of job cuts will also impact ESPN, Disney’s entertainment division, Disney Parks, and its Experiences and Product division. They are expected to be announced through Thursday and affect employees across the nation, though not hourly frontline employees at Disney’s theme parks and resorts.
Last month, the outlet reported that the layoffs would happen in three waves, citing a memo Iger sent to staff. Initial cuts were made in late March and a third wave is expected “before the beginning of summer.”
“Disney notified employees of a first wave of layoffs on March 27, which saw cuts in its metaverse strategies unit and part of its Beijing office,” said CNBC.
“We are embarking on a significant company-wide cost reduction plan that we expect will reduce annualized non-content-related expenses by roughly $2.5 billion – not including inflation,” said Disney Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy during the February earnings call. “In general, we anticipate these reductions will be comprised of approximately 50% marketing, 30% labor, and 20% technology, procurement, and other expenses.”
CNN said that Disney had approximately 220,000 workers as of Oct. 1 last year, with around 166,000 in the U.S. This latest round of cuts brings the total number of eliminated jobs to around 4,000. Overall, the three rounds of cuts represent a 3% reduction in the company’s global workforce.
Iger returned to Disney in November after the company board fired Bob Chapek.
“The senior leadership teams have been working diligently to define our future organization, and our biggest priority has been getting this right, rather than getting it done fast,” said a note to employees Monday from co-chairmen of Disney Entertainment, Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, according to CNBC.
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