Today, that is, 26 February, 2024, Disney officials announced a second round of layoffs as part of their ongoing cost-cutting measures, affecting more employees. By 29 February 2024, the company plans to complete 4,000 out of the 7,000 job cuts it talked of earlier in the year, aiming to save $5.5 billion.
Bob Iger, CEO, Disney, announced the plan in February 2023 to streamline Disney’s operations amid economic uncertainty and pressure from Wall Street regarding the profitability of the company’s streaming services.
Disney began informing employees of layoffs starting on 27 March 2023. The initial job cuts affected divisions such as ABC News, and the unit focused on futuristic storytelling, a project championed by Bob Chapek, former CEO, who was replaced by Bob Iger in November after serving as CEO for 15 years.
A larger wave of job cuts was previously announced for April, with a third round planned before summer, impacting various divisions including film and TV studios, ESPN and the parks and products segment. Hourly park employees are expected to be spared.
Iger is cutting costs by shifting away from in-house streaming content production. Instead, the company plans to license shows and movies from third parties. In January 2024, Pixar Animation Studios, a branch of Walt Disney, downsized its staff due to an excess of employees after completing several shows.
