After several rounds of layoffs, The Walt Disney Company will once again be firing hundreds of its employees.
We first learned of Disney’s mass-layoff plan back at The Walt Disney Company’s Q1 earnings call. Disney CEO Bob Iger dropped the bombshell, declaring that around 7,000 jobs would be cut as a part of this company-wide restructuring. During the call, The Walt Disney Company shared its ginormous profits, posting an increase of 35% on the Parks side of things. This translated into $2.1 billion from Disney’s collection of Parks alone.
These layoffs have come in phases, with the third round of planned layoffs starting today, May 22, 2023. This third round is expected to affect roughly 2,500 positions via Deadline.
The layoffs were not expected to hit the theme park division hard, though they have been affected. The target of this third round is not specified.
Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products Chairman Josh D’Amaro stated that he did not expect the layoffs to affect hourly workers on the front lines at Walt Disney World. Things have been shaky for Disney ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From its stock price dropping to losing subscribers on its streaming platform, Disney has been in some hot water over the last few years.
One of Disney’s biggest controversies and, ultimately, one of its biggest failures can be found in the now-defunct Galactic Starcruiser. Earlier this month, Disney revealed that it would be permanently closing this immersive Star Wars-themed hotel experience.
The ambitious location will be closing for good in September of 2023, meaning it will have only been operating for about a year and a half. As for what Disney will do with the unused space, only time will tell. But it’s safe to say Disney lost a significant chunk of change on this admirable experiment.
