Disney to begin laying off 7,000 employees in multiple stages
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The Disney dream is becoming a nightmare for some employees.
Disney CEO Bob Iger announced Monday that the company would be laying off 7,000 workers in multiple stages starting this week. It represents about a 3% cut of the company’s global workforce. Roughly 166,000 of the company’s employees are based in the U.S.
Iger had previously announced layoffs were in the pipeline during the company’s earnings call in early February.
In a memo to workers, Iger said the first wave of layoffs would occur this week. “Several thousand” more staffers will lose their jobs in a second, larger round of layoffs some time in April and a third round would occur “before the beginning of the summer.”
The cuts are expected to affect every division of the media giant’s business.
“The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly,” Iger said in the memo. “This company is home to the most talented and dedicated employees in the world, and so many of you bring a lifelong passion for Disney to your work here. That’s part of what makes working at Disney so special,” Iger wrote in his staff memo. “It also makes it all the more difficult to say goodbye to wonderful people we care about. I want to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to every departing employee for your numerous contributions and your devotion to this beloved company.”
Iger’s current, two-year contract can be worth as much as $27 million annually, according to Variety. Iger previously served as the company’s CEO and returned in Nov. 2022, ousting Bob Chapek.
The company’s annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for April 3.
Disney is hardly the only company conducting layoffs to cut expenses and restructure. Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast are two other entertainment conglomerates slashing staff and other costs.
However, the tech industry has been leading the way with massive cuts occurring at companies like Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, Alphabet, which owns Google and other large ventures, and Microsoft, among others.
