During the COVID-19 theme park shutdown, Disney announced that Senior Executives for The Walt Disney Company would be taking salary cuts to help in the midst of the unprecedented effects of the pandemic on the company. Now, their paychecks are being restored while thousands of Cast Members remain on furlough.
Back in March, Bob Chapek sent out an email stating all senior executives would have their pays reduced throughout the closure period. Chapek had his salary reduced by 50%. Bob Iger agreed to forgo 100% of his salary. Various decreases in pay for SVPs, EVPs, and VPs were also enacted: VP by 20%, SVPs by 25%, EVP by 30%. The salary cuts went into place on April 5th.
According to an exclusive from Deadline, salary reductions will be lifted starting August 23rd. Walt Disney Company employees were informed yesterday that the pay reduction period would be ending this Sunday. Changes will be reflected in the executives’ next paychecks. It is unclear whether the pay restoration would impact Iger and Chapek. The salary cuts were meant to be temporary, and were to remain in effect until the company saw “a substantive recovery in business.”
As expected due to the theme park shutdown, results from the company’s recent Q3 earnings call were bleak, with a historic $2 billion reported in revenue loss from the company’s Parks, Experiences and Products division. However, Walt Disney World is operating at a meager profit, or at the very least exceeding variable costs, according to CEO Bob Chapek. Still, thousands of Cast Members, including performers, events staff, and more, are still furloughed at this time due to limited park hours and operations.
