Disney Expected to Lay Off as Many as 1,000 Employees

Disney is predicted to lay off as many as 1,000 staff by function eliminations in the coming months, Variety has discovered. Many of the cuts are anticipated to come from the media big’s advertising division.

Disney declined to remark. The resolution to lower from the company’s general workforce of 231,000 full- and part-time staff comes as Josh D’Amaro takes the reins of Disney as CEO. D’Amaro, who was beforehand the chairman of Disney Experiences, was chosen as former CEO Bob Iger’s alternative in early February. Disney’s 10 board members, together with Iger, voted unanimously to appoint D’Aramo as CEO. He formally took over on March 18.

Disney is the latest leisure big to search a workforce discount in the face of uncertainty in the near-term financial future given the conflict with Iran, rising oil costs and other points. Sony Pictures Entertainment confirmed that the studio plans to lower a whole lot of positions.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report Disney’s layoff plan. The company last confronted large-scale employees cuts in 2023, after Iger returned for his second stint as CEO, when the company lower some 7,000 positions. About 76% of Disney’s global workforce is full-time; about 172,000 of them work in the U.S.

D’Amaro started his profession in 1998 at Disneyland. He’s held a spread of enterprise, advertising and operations positions during his tenure with the Mouse House, including CFO of Disney Consumer Products Global Licensing, president of Disneyland Resort and president of Walt Disney World Resort. He was promoted to head of Disney parks and cruises, client merchandise and Walt Disney Imagineering in May 2020.