In pursuit of better operational efficiency Disney is trimming its workforce. This time, hundreds are reportedly going to be impacted, primarily from teams that look after marketing, publicity, casting, development and even finance, across the Entertainment departments.
According to media reports, Disney has been facing financial pressure with movie distribution and television viewership dropping amidst the popularity of streaming services.
The company has been trying to check costs ever since Bob Iger came back for a second stint as CEO, after superannuating in 2022. The very next year, he had revealed plans to reduce expenditure in billions by cutting 7,000 jobs. February 2023 saw Iger trying 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. By 29 February 2024, the company planned to complete 4,000 out of the 7,000 job cuts it had talked of earlier in the year, aiming to save $5.5 billion.
In September of 2024, Disney had implemented a round of layoffs that affected approximately 300 employees across various corporate departments, including human resources, legal and finance, as part of the cost-saving initiative. This followed a previous reduction in July that saw about 140 employees let go from its television division. The move had resulted in two per cent of Disney Entertainment Television being laid off.
In the last round of layoffs, about 200 positions were eliminated across Disney’s ABC and entertainment television networks, in March of 2025.
